NAME - SAIF ALI

CLASS - B.A LL.B(SF)

FACULT - LAW

BATCH - 2017-22

TOPIC

ROLE OF ELECTION IN A DEMOCRACY

 1
INTRODUCTION

DEFINITION :-

Democracy is a form of government in which all the eligible citizens

have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows people to
participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the affairs of the
community. It was originally meant to denote ‘people governing themselves without
mediation by chosen representative’. In other words, it implies to system of government in
which all the citizens actively participate in decision making process without mediation. In
contemporary times, democracy means a system of government where source of political
authority is directly or indirectly resides with its people. According to Abram Lincoln,
democracy is ‘the government of the people, by the people, for the people. It implies three
things. First, government is selected from the people themselves. Second, people are the
ultimate source of authority. Third, the purpose of the government is to serve people’s
interest. In modern democratic system, people choose their representatives in free and fair
election and in turn they govern the people for the benefit of the people. Government is thus
accountable to people.

FEATURES OF DEMOCRACY:-

1. Sovereignty:- Democracy is based on sovereignty. People can exercise their power in

democracy. They elect their representatives. The government remains responsible to the
common mass for its every omission and commission.

2. Political Equality:- Democracy is based on political equality. It means all citizens

irrespective of caste, creed, religion, race or sex are considered to be equal before law and
enjoy equal political rights. Political equality gives the right to vote to every citizen.

3. Majority Rules:-In a democratic set-up actual government is carried out with the help of
the party which obtains the majority of votes. Support of majority is accepted by all.

4. Federal:-It is another feature of Indian democracy. The Article 1 of Indian Constitution

describes India as a union of states. According to our Constitution, the states are autonomous.
They have full freedom in certain matters, and in some other matters they are dependent on
centre.

5. Collective Responsibility: In the Indian democracy, the Council of Ministers both in

states and centre are collectively responsible to their respective legislatives. No minister is
alone responsible for any act of the government. The entire council of ministers are
responsible for all the activities.

6. Independent Judiciary:-Democracy is characterised by independent judiciary. The

judiciary does not depend on executive or legislature. No government organ can influence
judiciary.

1
Ramashray Roy, Perspective on political order,
56, Rawat Publication,
 ROLE OF ELECTION IN DEMOCRACY

Elections are very important in a democracy. The people have the power to elect their leader.
Elections is a way of expressing the political views of the common man. Democracy is
actually choosing the best person to govern the state by the votes of the people of the nation.
It rules out the rule of one family, one person or one institution which is very important for
the development of the people.

People always say that democracy is the rule of the majority but I disagree to this statement
because then the majority will get a chance to over power and rule every system of the
government at the same time the minority will be neglected from the development of the state
which is not a positive sign of development and even if there is development this way then it
will not be a complete development.

IMPORTANCE OF ELECTION:- Democratic nations perform elections where people

have a say on the kind of government that will safeguard all their interests. Therefore, the
elected leaders have a responsibility of ensuring that the country is run in the most efficient
way which brings about prosperity. Most ancient democratic societies such as the Greeks
allowed people to participate in the election processes. However, the current societies have
millions of people in different countries hence indirect democracies are practiced where
people elect their representatives to run all affairs on their behalf. However, other nations
have a monarchical system where the few elites govern the country, and the leadership of the
nation is hereditary. In such cases, most rulers use the dictatorship means, and people have no
say in all the government affairs. Therefore, the election is typically conducted since many
people cannot have direct control of the affairs hence they elect their representatives to
conduct such. In regards to the above assertions, the essay herein discusses the importance of
the election.

Elections help in solving leadership scramble. Most democratic nations exhibit high
population hence most people want to be leaders. Therefore, people elect a representative
government at a regular period such as five years. Thus, people participate in the election
process where they elect their representatives in parliament and senate. These representative
leaders have to look after their own people’s welfare to ensure unity, progress, and prosperity
and ensure the integrity of the nation as a whole.

Secondly, people conduct an election to safeguard their freedom and rights. The destiny of a
particular nation is vested on freedom and rights of people to scrutinize the government at the
time as well as give better ways of solving problems through their representatives. Therefore,
the people have the time to scrutinize their representatives and learn their interests in the
public office hence only elect the most qualified leaders who can safeguard the freedom and
rights for all. This choice of leadership henceforth favors only candidates who have views
that conform to the opinions of the majority and reflect the will of the people at all times.
PROCEDURE OF ELECTION IN INDIA :- Democratic nations perform elections where
people have a say on the kind of government that will safeguard all their interests. Therefore,
the elected leaders have a responsibility of ensuring that the country is run in the most
efficient way which brings about prosperity. Most ancient democratic societies such as the
Greeks allowed people to participate in the election processes. However, the current societies
have millions of people in different countries hence indirect democracies are practiced where
people elect their representatives to run all affairs on their behalf. However, other nations
have a monarchical system where the few elites govern the country, and the leadership of the
nation is hereditary. In such cases, most rulers use the dictatorship means, and people have no
say in all the government affairs. Therefore, the election is typically conducted since many
people cannot have direct control of the affairs hence they elect their representatives to
conduct such. In regards to the above assertions, the essay herein discusses the importance of
the election.

Elections help in solving leadership scramble. Most democratic nations exhibit high
population hence most people want to be leaders. Therefore, people elect a representative
government at a regular period such as five years. Thus, people participate in the election
process where they elect their representatives in parliament and senate. These representative
leaders have to look after their own people’s welfare to ensure unity, progress, and prosperity
and ensure the integrity of the nation as a whole.

Secondly, people conduct an election to safeguard their freedom and rights. The destiny of a
particular nation is vested on freedom and rights of people to scrutinize the government at the
time as well as give better ways of solving problems through their representatives. Therefore,
the people have the time to scrutinize their representatives and learn their interests in the
public office hence only elect the most qualified leaders who can safeguard the freedom and
rights for all. This choice of leadership henceforth favors only candidates who have views
that conform to the opinions of the majority and reflect the will of the people at all time

ROLE OF ELECTION IN DEMOCRACY:-

In India, which is the largest democracy in

the world in terms of vastness and population, governments both at the center and in the
constituent states are elected for five-year terms. The electorate of so many crores of people
in this sub-continent participate in the election, held on the basis of universal adult franchise,
and send their representatives to both the Parliament and the state legislatures, expecting that
these representatives will safeguard their interests and work to attain the goal of progress,
prosperity, unity and integrity of India as also to ensure rights and freedom of the people. In
this indirect democracy the elections play the most important role in shaping the destiny of
the people, and the people, while exercising their franchise, constitute the real source of
power in the elections as they make their choice and elect only those in whom they have
faith.

Elections are important because the people participate in elections to choose their
representatives. They should have the necessary education and wisdom to elect only the right
kind of people. As it happens in many democracies, including India, the impostors and
swindlers take advantage of the poverty and ignorance of the people and contest elections to
cash in on the gullibility of them.The poor villagers in India who constitute the majority of
the electorate are often found quite apathetic towards he sophisticated election process and
they do not have the education to distinguish one from the other. Hence, the representatives,
once elected, work only for self-aggrandizement and are contented only to enjoy the fruits of
power for five years, doing nothing for the poor electors. When they are back again at the
hustling they cajole and coax the voters with new sets of promises, or simply buy their votes
with enormous money-power at their disposal. The voters, in the process, lose all their
interest in the elections and they either abstain from voting or cast their votes only as a matter
of ritual. Such elections are not in the finest traditions of democracy, nor does the power of
such democracies emanate from the people. The people cannot always help participating in
these elections, but their votes do not quite represent their choice. So the elected
governments, instead of conforming to the democratic norms and values, are often found to
become authoritarian and autocratic, developing a sort of cynical disregard for people’s
aspirations.

Hence, it is imperative to educate the significance of voting rights among masses to ensure
conscious participation of the people in the election, reserving the right to recall. For else the
elections are bound to have an insignificant role in the changed scenario. And this conscious
participation cannot but remain a far cry, if the majority of the electorate is left languishing in
the morass of poverty, ignorance and superstitions2

2
Hoveyda Abbas, Indian government and politics
70,76,86