Democracy is a system of government that
allows all citizens to have a say about who they want to be
the government. This is usually done by voting for representatives
called Members of Parliament during an election.
Democracy began in ancient Athens. All free citizens were entitled
to vote on decisions made by the government. This only worked
while the population was small. It was called direct democracy.
Slaves did not get to vote.
With larger populations it is impossible to allow everyone
to have a direct say, so we now have representatives to speak
on behalf of a large number of people.
People often say that democracy is government of the
people, by the people, for the people. This means decisions
of the people because the people voted for
their representatives because they agreed with the policies
and ideas that this person's political party presented during
the election. Government is by the people.
That is, all people have a say in their government by electing
representatives to parliament. Democracy is for the
people because governments are meant to make decisions
for the benefit of all citizens. This does not mean you will
agree with every decision the government makes but it will make
decisions that it believes are right at that time for the benefit
of the country and its citizens.
If you want to find out more about democracy:
