DEMOCRACY

The term democracy is made up of two Greek words, ‘Demos’ meaning the people and ‘Kratia’ or ‘Kratein’ meaning to rule. Democracy meant “people’s rule” or the “the rule of the people”. Today, many people call it ‘people Government’.

Democracy is a system of government where the opinions of the people are taken into consideration when it comes to the administration of the country. On the other hand, democracy also refers to the system of government whereby the whole population of a country usually elect their representative.

 

Types of Democracy

1.      Direct democracy: this system is practical with small groups. In this system, all power is placed in the hands of the individual or citizens. When political decisions must be made, members gather together and individuals cast their vote. The individuals are therefore directly involved in the decision-making process.

2.      Indirect or Representative: in this system, individuals were elected to represent a group in decision-making. Ghana’s democracy is the representative type. The members of parliament are elected to represent their people (constituencies) in decision-making. This means that the individuals have power, indirectly exercised on their behalf.

 

Features and ways of Promoting Democracy

i.                    Free, fair, periodic elections: In modern democracy, the citizens choose their leaders or representatives through elections. The purpose of democracy will best be served when elections are free, fair and conducted periodically. Free and fair elections means there should be no restrictions placed in the process of voting with the intention of giving advantage to a favoured group.

ii.                  Freedom of expression: individuals should be able to express themselves freely on national issues and to criticize the government constructively. This will help keep the government on his toes.

iii.                An independent judiciary: In a democratic country, the judiciary must be independent. Judges must be free to do their duties without fear or favour, either of the government, or of parliament, or wealthy or powerful citizens. Judges must be trusted to administer justice fairly.

iv.                An independent Electoral Commission (EC): the conduct and supervision of election for representatives of the people in a democratic country is entrusted in an independent institution known as the Electoral Commission. This commission must be independent and work fairly to achieve its purpose.

v.                  Multi-party political system: for democracy to exist, the electorate should have the opportunity to form or join any political party of their choice. Individuals have different ideas and views and in order to participate fully in democratic process, they must be given the chance to express their views through political parties that they have the same ideologies as theirs.

vi.                Good and workable constitution: for democracy to exist, there must be a good and workable constitution in the country. The constitution contains set of rules, laws and regulations that are to be used to administer or manage the affairs of the country. The constitution is supreme and safeguards the fundamental human rights of the individuals living in the country.

vii.         -    The rule of law: rule of law exists to ensure that individual's are equal before the law. It indicates that in the administration of the state the law is supreme and that it is not in the interest and wishes of certain group of people or state officials. The presents of rule of law  helps to avoid dictatorship and gives protection of fundamental human rights.  

Tolerance of varied views

An independent media

Separation of power

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CONSTITUTION

Constitution refers to a set of rules, laws and regulations that are used in the management and administration of a country. A country’s constitution is its basic or fundamental law (highest) law. It usually set down the form of the state (unitary or federal) and the kind of government (presidential or parliamentary). It lays down the basic powers of the government as well as the rights and freedoms and the duties and obligations of the people.

 

Constitutional Rule: it refers to a system of governance whereby the procedures for the administration of the country is totally or strictly derived from the constitution. The actions of those mandated or responsible to govern the country are prescribed by the written document or the constitution.

 

Nation Building: it refers to all efforts by the government, private institutions and the people in general to contribute towards the development of the nation. It may also be explained as the uninterrupted effort to maintain unity and togetherness in order to improve upon the quality of life of the individuals in a country.


Government: it can be explained as the whole machinery responsible for administering or running the affairs of a state.

 

 

Sources of Constitution

a.       Statutory or Acts of parliament: most of the provisions of the constitution extracted from the statutes, also called Acts of Parliament. These are formal laws made by the parliament of the country.

b.      Customary sources: these are behaviours that have long accepted as rules over a long period of time before the advent of the draft of a constitution. These include the practice of making use of precepts, customs, traditions, conventions and norms.

c.       Judicial precedents or case laws: this are decided cases by the court which are included in the writing of a new constitution.

d.      Authoritative sources: some prominent individuals are considered authorities. References from books by some of these authorities are used in the drawing of a new constitution. An example is Albert Venn Dicey who propounded the concept of Rule of Law.

e.       Decrees: decrees are laws made by a military government. They also serve as a source of a country’s constitution.

f.       Constitutions of other countries: the constitutions of other countries can be used a benchmark when drafting a new constitution for a country.

g.      Previous constitution of a country: in drawing of a new constitution, references are drawn from previous constitution. For example, Ghana made references from its previous constitutions such as the 1969 Second Republican Constitution and the 1979 Third Republican Constitution. Important elements of those constitutions were included in the 1992 constitution.

 

CLASSIFICATION OR TYPES OF CONSTITUTION

Constitution can be classified into four. That is,

·         According to the nature of the constitution (written or unwritten)

·         According to the amendment procedures (rigid and flexible)

·         According to the basis of sharing power (federal and unitary).

·         Classified in the area of locating authority (monarchical and republican)

 

Written constitution: a constitution is classified or described as written when the laws for the administration of the state are assembled or brought together into a single legal document. Examples of countries that uses the written constitution includes Ghana, Nigeria and United State of America.

Unwritten constitution: unwritten constitution is also known as non-documentary. This a type of constitution in which the basic rules and regulations for the governance of the country have not been codified in one document but they remain scattered sources. Greater part of them are in the form of customs, conventions, and common usage and practices. The United Kingdom uses unwritten constitution.

Flexible constitution: a flexible constitution is one whose provisions can be changed in a very simple way just as the process of making ordinary legislation. Britain and New Zealand continue to be use and operate with the flexible constitution.

Rigid constitution: a rigid constitution is one whose provisions cannot be changed easily by making ordinary legislation.

Unitary constitution: A unitary constitution is one that establishes a single paramount or supreme authority usually called the central government for the whole country. Countries that have adopted the unitary constitution are Britain, France, Ghana and Liberia.

Federal constitution: is a system of government in which the different states or provinces have important powers to make their own laws and decisions.


Diagnostic Exercise

a.      Define Democracy

b.      Explain the term constitution

c.       What is the meaning of Constitutional rule

d.      List four (4) features of Democracy

e.       State two (2) schemes of classifying a Constitution.

 

OBJECTIVES TEST

1.      One feature of democracy is

a.      a. Celebration of festivals

b.     b.  Detention without trial

c.      c.  Press censorship

d.     d.  Tolerance of varied views

2.      A decree of law is issued by a

a.       a. Single-party government

b.     b.  Military government

c.     c.   Democratic government

d.     d.  Coalition government

3.      The three arms of government are the executive, judiciary and

a.      a.  Military

b.     b.  Legislature

c.       c. Press

d.      d. Civil service

4.      The primary function of the legislature is to

a.      a.  Make law

b.    b.   Administer justice

c.      c.  Register citizens

d.      d. Arrest criminals

5.      The head of judiciary in Ghana is the

a.      a.  Speaker of Parliament

b.      b. President

c.      c.  Chief justice

d.    d.   Minister of Justice