In a democracy it is neither possible nor necessary for people to govern directly. The most common form of democracy in our times is for the people to govern through their representatives.
Elections take place regularly in any democracy. There are more than one hundred countries in the world in which elections take place to choose people’s representatives. Elections are also held in many countries that are not democratic.
But why do we need elections?
A rule of the people is possible without any elections if all the people can sit together everyday and take all the decisions. But this is not possible in any large community. Nor is it possible for everyone to have the time and knowledge to take decisions on all matters. Therefore in most democracies people rule through their representatives.
Is there a democratic way of selecting representatives without elections?
Think of a place where representatives are selected on the basis of age and experience. Or a place where they are chosen on the basis of education or knowledge. There could be some difficulty in deciding on who is more experienced or knowledgable. Let us say the people can resolve these difficulties. Such a place does not require elections.
But can we call this place a democracy? How do we find out if the people like their representatives or not? How do we ensure that these representatives rule as per the wishes of the people? How to make sure that those who the people don’t like do not remain their representatives? This requires a mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals and change them if they wish to do so. This mechanism is called election. Therefore, elections are considered essential in our times for any representative democracy.
In an election the voters make many choices:
- They can choose who will make laws for them.
- They can choose who will form the government and take major decisions.
- They can choose the party whose policies will guide the government and law making.
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