Translated into English, the originally Greek word “Democracy” means “rule of the people”. The selection of political leaders by the people is the very basis of democratic governance. In most democracies today, popular political participation is confined to this selection of leaders on election-day every few years. Elections and democracy are like two wheels of a cart. If you remove one wheel the vehicle cannot move forward.
Democratic rule is inconceivable without elections. A ruler who does away with elections is rightfully called a dictator. The very essence of democratic rule lies in the limitation of political power. In democratic orders, various methods are applied to curb power.
In a democracy, the power of the government is always limited by time. All democratic constitutions include provisions that limit the terms of political leaders; in some democratic countries, political leaders are even explicitly excluded from running for office after a stated period.
In essence, elections and democracy are about sharing and checking political power and control. I would argue that the better the system of checks and balances functions, the better the quality of democracy in a specific country. In most democracies today, the division of power is not limited to the classical separation between the three traditional powers – the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. In addition to what political scientists have termed horizontal division of power (the separation of the parliament, the government and the courts), what may be termed a vertical division of power is important. This refers to the splitting up of power between the central government and the different units of local autonomy.
The most advanced system of political decentralization is federalism. While I have heard many arguments for and against this model, it is undisputed that a federal set-up enhances the system of checks and balances which is so vital for democratic governance.
While on the one hand democracy is inconceivable without elections, political elections alone are no guarantee for democratic governance. Put differently, one cannot be a democrat without supporting elections, but one can very well conduct elections without being a democrat. In many parts of the world, democratically elected governments ignore constitutional limits and deprive the people of basic human rights and freedoms. In his book The Future of Freedom. Illiberal Democracy, the US-American journalist Fareed Zakaria enumerates a long list of what he terms “elected autocrats”. He writes that,
“Over the past decade, elected governments claiming to represent the people have steadily encroached on the powers and the rights of other elements of society.”
