“Elections are a necessary but insufficient feature of democratic rule”. Analyse this statement with reference to both democratic and authoritarian states for illustration.
In this essay, I will argue the point that elections are necessary for democracy and that they are not insufficient for a strong democracy. Elections are essential due to direct democracy. Direct democracy is a way of government where political decisions are formed by the entirety of the people and these democratic governments must be handled through elected representatives. They are important because it provides accountability for representatives throughout their time in office. Therefore Elections are important for democratic legitimacy which maintains political stability because it establishes a regime’s right to rule.
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“The major function of elections is to elect the members of parliament who together should be as representative as possible of the electorate as a whole” (Jacques Thomassen, 2014, pg3). As explained the importance of elections within a functioning democracy is that they ensure the representation element throughout the democratic system. Representation within a democracy is key because it ensures that checks and balances are carried out so that one group organization doesn’t gain more power over another, and where this power could be abused. An example of this in practice would be Idi Amin in Uganda. Amin carried out a military coup, in which he removed president Milton Obote from power and then took control of the country in 1971. His ruthless 8-year regime and an estimated 300,000 civilians were murdered. However, if there were elections, the function of representation within democracy could have prevented this.
On the other hand, in China, “China’s constitution allows independent candidates to run in local elections but it is a futile exercise for those who dare… it is the Communist Party that decides who gets on the ballot… so difficult that their request for office is over before it begins” (BBC News, 2016). This indicates the argument that ‘Elections are necessary but an insufficient feature of democratic rule’, within authoritarian regimes such as China, some seek to demonstrate legitimacy by holding elections. There is a high possibility with non-competitive elections that “Coercion is notoriously linked with the absence of competition between the candidates, or where candidacy is ordained by the power-holders” (Guy Hermit, 1978, pg3). “Limitations may be, they mean that the electoral system they affect fits neither the category of openly non-competitive models in which restriction is manifested as an abject refusal to allow more than one candidate to stand nor the classical competitive which proves the multi-party rule” (Guy Hermet, 1978, pg.4). Therefore, due to the limitations on the candidacy throughout elections, elections become insufficient.
“The democratic purpose of elections is to ensure that the wishes and preferences of voters are reflected in the make-up of legislatures and governments” (Hague, R, Harrop, M, and McCormick, J, 2016). The process of voting is a process that enables a nation and its governmental system to perform correctly; it allows the electorate to decide their own government; to carry out its purpose which is to evolve and enforce its policies for the benefit of its people. However, the electorate is unable to vote without knowing what each candidate and party is going to achieve in office; what their plan is, and therefore why this plan is going to benefit them. Meaningful elections are about the ‘control of the agenda’, i.e. that the demos or people must have the opportunity to decide what political matters actually are and what should be brought up for deliberation” (Jacques Thomassen, 2014, pg.39). This is conveyed through candidates, party’s mandates and manifestos. One of the main issues for most countries around the world is employment therefore the people made this a political matter that needed deliberation as it was affecting the people. In Sweden “more than half a million people or 9.8% of the population were registered as unemployed in June 2009” (Eurofound, 2009). Another example of when the electorate has decided on what is discussed in Parliament is in Northern Ireland, a private members bill has been presented to the assembly in regards to Autism. It’s called the Autism Amendment Bill presented by Pam Cameron MLA. “It aims to strengthen the original Autism Act (2011) with the creation of an ‘Autism Reviewer’ post whose role will include scrutinizing the effectiveness of the autism strategy, funding, and commissioning of independent research. The Bill will also develop new Autism training opportunities for NI Departments and other public bodies, a new Northern Ireland-wide early intervention service and creates an accessible autism information service for autistic people, their families, carers, and professionals” (Pam Cameron, 2021). The organization Autism NI was one of the main groups of people who made this a political matter that needed to be deliberated. Through elections, this MLA was elected and was able to listen to their proposals and carried them forward. Consequently, this backs up my view that elections are not insufficient and are crucial for democracy.
Nonetheless, throughout authoritarian regimes, the use of public deliberation created by elections is very different than democratic means. “Authoritarian regimes in Asia have increasingly experimented with controlled forms of political participation and deliberation, producing a variety of ‘hybrid’ regimes” (Baogang He and Mark E. Warren, 2011). Hybrid regimes are also referred to as electoral or competitive regimes. “They combine democratic traits (e.g. frequent and direct elections) with autocratic ones (e.g. political repression) (Jean-François Gagné, 2015). A current example of a hybrid regime is Belarus. Belarus’s leader Lukashenko has been in power since 1994, and he is one of the last dictators in Europe. Within the political system in Belarus, elections have been used as a way of showing that the government is legitimate. The 2020 Presidential elections in Belarus were met with clear electoral fraud and abuse of the election procedure, but the results announced Alexandr Lukashenka as the president for his sixth term in office. His win was met with protestors and violence, “It was a night of defiance and violence in cities across Belarus, where tens of thousands of opponents of the country’s president of 26 years, Alexandr Lukashenko, faced off with heavily armed riot police… Riot police in balaclavas dragged an unconscious man across a square in Minsk, his arms and head dangling lifelessly toward the pavement” (Yan Auseyushkin and Andrew Roth, 2020). This shows how controlled elections are within Hybrid regimes but also, how they undermine the electoral system, therefore proving “Elections are a necessary but insufficient feature of democratic rule”.
Within a democracy, elections are necessary because they “Provide an important opportunity to advance democratization and encourage political liberalization. For an election to be fair, certain civil liberties such as freedoms of speech” (Ben Davis, 2019). In a democratic system, a key right is having freedom of speech and being able to speak freely in regard to an individual’s political views and preferences. This has an impact on elections because being open about who you support and who you do not support gives you the freedom to choose who you will vote for and the reasons behind that decision. A right that goes hand in hand with freedom of speech is the right to protest. Article 10 of the Human Rights Act, “Article 10 protects your right to hold your own opinions and to express them freely without government interference. This includes the right to express your views aloud; for example through public protest and demonstrations” (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2021). A current example of freedom of speech and protesting is demonstrations on the issue of climate change. At this moment there is the COP26 summit which are leaders around the world making decisions and agreeing to make changes to help save the planet. Such as Indonesia pledging to end deforestation. However there has been a backlash in regards to this summit, Greta Thunberg “told fellow activists from ‘Fridays for Future’ that change would not come from politicians at the summit but from individuals showing leadership… meeting of young activists at Festival Park, near the COP26 campus” (BBC, 2021). This example of protesting shows that these politicians who were democratically elected face opposition, however because of the right to have freedom of speech; they may not get re-elected. Therefore in relation to the statement, “Elections are a necessary but insufficient feature of democratic rule”, this point proves that they are sufficient because, within a democratic society, we are able to have freedom of speech as it is a civil right; we have the choice to voice our opinions on our politicians, we can decide through elections whether or not they are correct for office. This point accordingly opposes this statement.
In conclusion, throughout my analysis, I have come to the view that elections are necessary for democracy and that they are not insufficient for a strong democracy. Democracy is such a complex system, but elections enable society to have a say in who governs the country and who they believe is going to represent them well. They ensure that the makeup of the legislature is decided by the people and it also enables certain civil liberties and public deliberation to take place. Public deliberation is key within a democracy as it allows the citizens the opportunity to express their opinions publically. Even within authoritarian states, the use of public deliberation towards elections is manipulation; for example within Belarus or the fact that elections within China are controlled by the Communist party in regards to representation and are used for legitimacy purposes. I believe that democracy needs elections for the right of freedom and that by citizens have freedom; it creates a strong democracy. Therefore I reaffirm my opinion that elections are necessary for democracy and that they are not insufficient for a strong democracy.
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