📰| 1. Key Features of Democracy

Question 1

Key Features of Democracy

Answer 1

• Representation
• Direct Democracy
• Freedom of the Press
• Independent Justice System

Question 2

Representation

Answer 2

• A key feature of a democracy is representation.
• This means that citizens are able to elect representatives to make decisions in parliament on their behalf.
• For example, there are currently 129 representatives who have been elected into the Scottish Parliament.

Question 3

Direct Democracy

Answer 3

• A key feature of a democracy is direct democracy.
• This is the practice of eligible voters having the ability to vote in referendums which are based on particular questions.
• For example, the 2014 Scottish referendum - which is Scotland’s most recent one - asked voters to vote on ‘should Scotland be an Independent country?’.

Question 4

Freedom of the Press

Answer 4

• A key feauture of a democracy is freedom of the press.
• In a democracy, media sources are allowed to report and scrutinise government work and are not affected by censorship.
• For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic the First Minister at the time, Nicola Sturgeon, frequently responded to journalist questions - this is the journalists way of holding the government to account.

Question 5

Independent Justice System

Answer 5

• A key feature of a democracy is an Independent Justice System.
• This means that the justice system must be separate from the political system to ensure that nobody is above the law.
• For example, former First Minister Alex Salmond was accused of 12 counts of sexual assault, and was cleared of all charges in the Edinburgh High Court in March 2020.