To begin with, it defeats the whole point of having democratically elected officials. They are mandated with the responsibility of making decisions on behalf of the citizens. Having referendums undermines this role making them powerless, almost useless. Another disadvantage of holding referendums is the extensive period of time it takes. Referendums cannot be used to make a decision of immediate necessity as it takes weeks and sometimes months to come up with a final decision.
In addition, the elections are held at regular intervals, which ensures that the representatives are accountable to the electorate. Furthermore, there is a pluralistic system which means that the electorate have a choice of candidates and political parties, regarded as an essential element of a genuine democracy. For example, in the General Election of May, 2010, the UK electorate had the opportunity to vote for candidates from minority parties, such as the Greens and UKIP, as well as the major parties such as Labour, Conservative and
This was then followed by The Great Reform Act of 1832, where they introduced a system for the election of MP's, by the 20th century Britain had its separate parties.Then in 1945 the first truly modern election manifesto appeared with a clear program of reform and thus made representation farer. For representative democracy, each MP represents a constituency (incluiding N.Ireland and Scotland) they are expected to represent the interests of the constituency and make its constituents feel like they will be listened to and f needed solve their problems. An MP does not have to be part of a party therefore can have its own ideas on what is best for its constituents and can also use Burkean representation (expect to also use own judgement of best interests of its constituents, he should not be expected to follow instructions of those who elected him). If an MP is part of a party, they can retain independence within the party sturcture as for example in the 19th century, this was described as the 'golden age of the British MP' in doing so, they influenced over government policy. In certain
Also, despite the Reichstag having some control over the defence budget, the military was not actually accountable to the Reichstag and did not have full control over the budgets. Another weakness of parliamentary democracy within the Reichstag is the limited powers within legislation as its primary function was to debate, yet the only members that could debate were of a certain class as members were not paid so those of lower classes could not stand for elections. Therefore, it is highly debatable as to how democratic the Reichstag was as it seems to be inaccessible for those of lower
Therefore, democracy in most of the western countries takes place through a system of regular and competitive elections, universal suffrage and political equality. Classical liberals defended democracy on the basis that it was found on consent. John LOCKE developed a limited theory of protective democracy which argues that voting rights should be extended to the well educated, who could then defend their natural rights against government. According to Locke, if government can possess power through taxation, then citizen are fully entitled to protect themselves by controlling the tax-making body. The idea that franchise should be expanded to the illiterate and those who pay taxes was supported by James Mill.
On the other hand, the wording could be too complex for the general citizen to understand causing confusion and a misinterpretation of the question, resulting in a the electorate feeling intimidated and voting just to get it over with and not actually putting thought into the decision. For example, in the 1998 referendum on the Devolution of Northern Ireland, the question posed language like 'Multi Party talks' and Command Paper 3883' which the average citizen would not know and find pressuring. Or the wording of the question could put the electorate off voting for the referendum resulting in a low turnout. This is harmful to democracy as the confusing wording of the question could dismay the electorate and they could not know what they are voting for until the legislature has
The House of Representatives and the Senate make up the two chambers of Congress in the United States. People elect both bodies during regular elections, usually held in November. Many have wondered why the United States Constitution calls for a bicameral approach to governance, thinking a single body would perfect the process of governing the people. The founding fathers that wrote the constitution and created Congress back in 1787 believed the power should be a shared process among all units of the government. The House incumbents and Senate seats are likely to change in the 2012 election with the impact of candidate characteristics, incumbents, money and primaries on race competitiveness.
The presidential election is an event that all Americans should pay attention to and understand what each candidate stands for. It is evident that President Obama’s programs are far more different than Governor Romney’s programs. President Obama is socialist, and Governor Romney is for the free enterprise system. Key points such as bigger government, regulations, higher taxes, unions, Obama Care, small businesses, and free enterprise are just a few major points in this election. During the debates, President Obama made it clear that he wants a bigger government.
One can create an e-petition about anything that the government is responsible for and if it gets at least 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons. Referenda and other forms of direct democracy could be argued to be more democratic than the opportunity to vote in elections because of the fact that general turnout for referenda exceeds the turnout for a general election. Direct democracy also allows citizens to contribute actively to decisions on how they are governed and important issues such as tax. An example of this could be the Croydon council poll in 2001. Direct democracy also overcomes flaws in the mandate theory.
Proponents of the UK and US voting methods also often cite the lack of a credible alternative as a reason for the retention of the current systems. In the UK, national elections are held when the incumbent government chooses to call an election. This differs significantly from the USA where political office is held on a fixed term basis. When a general election is called each constituency holds an election to decide their Member of Parliament (MP) using the first past the post system. If a party gains a majority it will be offered the chance to form government by the Queen.