Forms and Principles of Democracy
Senior 1 · History and Citizenship
Forms and Principles of Democracy
Lesson 2 of 4
25 min
Elections alone do not make a country democratic. Some governments hold elections but ignore the courts, silence critics and never explain how public money is spent. Figure 1 shows democracy as a building. Study it before you read on.
Answer in your notebook: which pillar would you remove first if you wanted to rule without being checked? What would happen to the roof?
Definition
Principle: a basic rule or belief that guides how something should work. Example: the principle that no one is above the law.
Definition
Rule of law: the principle that everyone, including leaders and the government, must obey the law, and that laws are clear, public and applied equally by independent courts. Example: "All persons are equal before the law" (Rwanda's Constitution, Article 15).
Definition
Separation of powers: the principle that the power of the state is divided between three branches, the legislature (makes laws), the executive (carries out laws) and the judiciary (judges according to the law), so that no single person or body holds all power. Example: Article 61 of Rwanda's Constitution: the three branches "are separate and independent from each other but are all complementary".
Definition
Accountability: the duty of leaders to explain and justify their decisions and use of public resources to the people, and to accept correction or removal when they fail. Example: a district reporting to citizens on the targets it promised to meet.
| Principle | What it means | Where Rwanda's Constitution or institutions provide for it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rule of law | No one is above the law; laws apply equally and are enforced by courts. | The Constitution is the supreme law, and any law against it "is without effect" (Article 3); equality before the law (Article 15). |
| 2. Separation of powers | Law-making, government and justice are held by different bodies that check one another. | Legislature, executive and judiciary are "separate and independent" (Article 61). You will study the three branches in Unit 9. |
| 3. Free and fair elections | Citizens choose leaders regularly, by secret ballot, from real choices, and the count is honest. | Universal, equal and secret suffrage (Article 2); the National Electoral Commission organises elections (Article 139). |
| 4. Human rights | Every person's rights and freedoms are respected and protected. | Chapter IV lists rights and freedoms, such as expression and assembly (Articles 38 and 40); the National Commission for Human Rights promotes them (Article 42). |
| 5. Accountability and transparency | Leaders answer to citizens; public decisions and spending are open to checking. | The Office of the Ombudsman, whose mission is to lead the fight against corruption, and the Office of the Auditor General of State Finances (Article 139). |
| 6. Participation | Citizens take part in decisions, not only on election day. | Sovereignty exercised "by means of referendum, elections, or through their representatives" (Article 1); the National Umushyikirano Council (Article 140); citizens' assemblies (lesson 4). |
Two further principles support these six:
Worked example: which principle is at stake?
For each case, name the principle that is being respected or broken, and explain how you know.
Method: ask who holds power in the case, what limits or checks that power, and whether citizens can see and question it.
Important
Warning
A common mistake: thinking that "the majority is always right". In a democracy the majority decides, but it cannot vote away the rights of a minority. A vote to take away a group's right to speak, to worship or to go to school would break the principle of human rights, however many people supported it.
Many Rwandan schools have student councils or class committees. Look at how the six principles can work at the scale of one school:
| Principle | In a school |
|---|---|
| Rule of law | the school rules apply to every student, including prefects |
| Separation of powers | the student council proposes rules, prefects carry them out, and a discipline committee hears cases |
| Free and fair elections | any student may stand for the council, and voting is by secret ballot |
| Human rights | no student is bullied, excluded or punished for their opinions, background or disability |
| Accountability | council members report back to their classes each month |
| Participation | students suggest ideas through class meetings and a suggestion box |
Tip
Memory hook: "LSE-HAP".Law rules, Separate powers, Elections free and fair; Human rights, Accountability, Participation.
Civics Academy (South Africa): "What is the Rule of Law?". An African channel explains the principles of the rule of law using South Africa's constitution. As you watch, find one principle that also appears in Rwanda's Constitution.
In groups: Which of the six pillars do you think is the hardest to keep strong, and why? Think of what citizens, journalists, courts and schools can each do to protect it.
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.
