Democracy: Features of a Democratic Political Society

Question 1

governments are elected by the people

Answer 1

• it would not be practical for all citizens to be involved in decision making so they give over some of this power to elected officials for a set period of time
• in most democracies like Scotland citizens vote every 5 years for the Scottish parliament, UK Parliament + local councils (the most recent SP election being in May 2021)

Question 2

regular + free elections

Answer 2

• free elections are where people are able to vote for who they want to represent them without fear or intimidation + that the vote is fair
• we’ve had 2 referendums, in 2014 (Independence), and 2016 (Brexit)

Question 3

citizens can participate

Answer 3

• all meetings in the debating chamber + most committee meetings are open to the public to view, they can also be viewed on the Scottish Parliament website
• First Minister’s Question Time can be viewed every Thursday live from the Scottish Parliament

Question 4

free speech is supported

Answer 4

• citizens of a democracy are able to voice their support for the decisions of a government or criticise them
• a BBC News headline in 2020 was ‘Coronavirus in Scotland: school pupils protest over SQA exam results’