Forms and Principles of Democracy
Senior 1 · History and Citizenship
Forms and Principles of Democracy
Lesson 1 of 4
25 min
Read these two short sources, written more than 150 years and more than 11,000 km apart.
Source A. "… that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, speech at Gettysburg, 19 November 1863. Public domain.
Source B. "The founding principle of the Republic of Rwanda is: 'Government of Rwandans, by Rwandans and for Rwandans'."
Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda (2003, revised 2015), Article 4.
Compare them in your notebook:
Both sources describe the same idea: power comes from the people, the people choose and control their leaders, and government exists to serve them. That idea is called democracy.
Definition
Democracy: a system of government in which power belongs to the people, who take decisions themselves or through leaders they choose freely, and who can hold those leaders to account. The word comes from the Greek demos, "people", and kratos, "power" or "rule". Example: Rwanda's Constitution says that all power derives from Rwandans (Article 1).
Definition
Citizen: a full member of a country, with rights (such as the right to vote) and duties (such as obeying the law). Example: a Rwandan aged 18 or over who registers to vote in her village.
Definition
Sovereignty: the supreme power to govern. In a democracy, sovereignty belongs to the people (popular sovereignty). Example: "National sovereignty belongs to Rwandans" (Constitution, Article 1).
Definition
Constitution: the highest law of a country. It sets out how the country is governed, the powers of its leaders, and the rights and duties of its people. Any law that goes against it has no effect. Example: the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda, adopted by referendum in 2003 and revised by referendum in 2015.
Definition
Suffrage: the right to vote in elections. Universal suffrage means that all adult citizens may vote, whatever their sex, wealth or origin. Example: Article 2 of Rwanda's Constitution: "Suffrage is universal and equal for all Rwandans".
No two democracies are exactly alike, but they share certain features. The more of these features a country has, and the better they work, the more democratic it is.
| Feature | What it means | An example |
|---|---|---|
| Power of the people | authority comes from the citizens, not from one person or family by birth | "All power derives from Rwandans" (Constitution, Article 1) |
| Regular, free and fair elections | citizens choose leaders at fixed times, by secret ballot, without fear or bribes | elections organised by an independent electoral commission |
| Equality before the law | the same laws apply to everyone, rich or poor, leader or citizen | "All persons are equal before the law" (Article 15) |
| Human rights and freedoms | rights such as life, expression, belief and assembly are protected | a bill of rights in the constitution |
| Participation | citizens take part in public life between elections as well as at them | community meetings where residents discuss local plans |
| Accountability and transparency | leaders explain their decisions, report on how they use public money, and can be removed | a mayor reporting to a citizens' assembly |
| Political tolerance and pluralism | people may hold different opinions and form different political organisations | more than one political organisation taking part in elections |
| Majority rule, minority rights | the majority decides, but it may not take away the rights of those who disagree | a vote is lost, but the losers keep their right to speak and vote again |
| Peaceful acceptance of results | losers accept the result and use legal means, such as the courts, if they believe it was unfair | a defeated candidate congratulating the winner |
Worked example: is this class election democratic?
The scenario. A Senior 1 class chooses its class representative. The teacher picks two candidates. Pupils vote by raising their hands while the candidates watch. The winner is never seen at a class meeting again and never reports back. Pupils who voted for the loser are laughed at.
Important
Article 2 of Rwanda's Constitution says that suffrage is "universal and equal for all Rwandans", and that voting is secret. The details are set by the electoral law and applied by the National Electoral Commission (NEC):
Registration in one's own village links every voter to a local community: the same villages where citizens meet to discuss their affairs, as you will see in lesson 4.
Tip
Memory hook: "demos + kratos = people + power". If you can say who holds the power and how the people can check it, you can judge how democratic a system is.
Binogi: "What is democracy? (Civics)". A short animated introduction. Watch for the features it names, and tick them off against the table above.
Think, pair, share: Rwanda's law sets the voting age at 18. Why do you think a country chooses an age limit for voting? Would 16 be better or worse? Give one reason for each side, then decide with your partner.
Practice
Sources and credits
The rest of this lesson, its diagrams, tables, worked examples and practice items, and the unit exercises were written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
