Representative Democracy and Voting
Democracy and Voting
Introduction:
Voting has a characteristic of a democracy, as seen within the Constitution of South Africa. Voting allows and gives people the power to decide who they want to represent them in Government, as this body would make decisions which would be to the benefit of the country. Society, votes in order to bring about change, which would benefit the people and the country, physically, economically and socially. This shows that civil society has the power to elect a particular person who they feel holds the particular characteristics to be a leader, from what they have seen and heard through the media. The focus of this essay aims to identify “what gives voting its democratic character” (Heywood, 2007:74) within South Africa. In addition, this essay will further explain the concepts ‘Democracy’, ‘The Constitution’, ‘Parliament’ and electoral systems, and its functions. Furthermore, this essay will discuss the roles of politicians and what their actions may result in, politically and personally.
What is Democracy?
Democracy is a term which derived from Ancient Greek terms ‘demos’, meaning people and ‘kràtos’, meaning strength and power. When used in sync it means that the masses or people rule (Heywood, 2007:72). Within a Democracy there is a “Constitutional government” (Heywood, 2007:318) that is obliged to participate and decide on any decisions, whereby, civil society is considered. Bureaucracy and chauvinism are not factors within a Democracy, as they only benefit who ever holds power (Heywood, 2007:383). Democracy is a term commonly used to describe a country’s way of operating, where everyone is treated equally, no matter race, gender or creed, and gives civil society the right to have a say in who they want in Government. For example, South Africa has been a democratic country since 1994, after Apartheid, which saw ‘blacks’ as inferior and ‘whites’ more superior. Furthermore, before Apartheid, South Africa had a Westminster- type
Introduction:
Voting has a characteristic of a democracy, as seen within the Constitution of South Africa. Voting allows and gives people the power to decide who they want to represent them in Government, as this body would make decisions which would be to the benefit of the country. Society, votes in order to bring about change, which would benefit the people and the country, physically, economically and socially. This shows that civil society has the power to elect a particular person who they feel holds the particular characteristics to be a leader, from what they have seen and heard through the media. The focus of this essay aims to identify “what gives voting its democratic character” (Heywood, 2007:74) within South Africa. In addition, this essay will further explain the concepts ‘Democracy’, ‘The Constitution’, ‘Parliament’ and electoral systems, and its functions. Furthermore, this essay will discuss the roles of politicians and what their actions may result in, politically and personally.
What is Democracy?
Democracy is a term which derived from Ancient Greek terms ‘demos’, meaning people and ‘kràtos’, meaning strength and power. When used in sync it means that the masses or people rule (Heywood, 2007:72). Within a Democracy there is a “Constitutional government” (Heywood, 2007:318) that is obliged to participate and decide on any decisions, whereby, civil society is considered. Bureaucracy and chauvinism are not factors within a Democracy, as they only benefit who ever holds power (Heywood, 2007:383). Democracy is a term commonly used to describe a country’s way of operating, where everyone is treated equally, no matter race, gender or creed, and gives civil society the right to have a say in who they want in Government. For example, South Africa has been a democratic country since 1994, after Apartheid, which saw ‘blacks’ as inferior and ‘whites’ more superior. Furthermore, before Apartheid, South Africa had a Westminster- type