Comment on the qualities and limitations of indirect democracy.

In indirect democracy it is the elected representative elected by the people exercise power, carry on the government and make laws. Indirect democracy is the form of democracy in which the public does not directly use the authority of governance but uses the power through a representative in which all the public or the majority of the public uses the power of government through their representative whom they chose from time to time.

There are both best qualities and limitations for the democracy. Both adverse and best qualities are being discussed below.

Qualities

• Responsible government to the public

The government will be responsible to the public because the power of choosing the representative for the nation is vested in the hands of the public. Therefore the government will accept the principle of public dominance. When the government is not bound to actions of the public and they influence the public freedom, the public has the power to change the leader next time.

• Public administration

The public administration in democratic government serves the whole population of the country. It doesn’t serve a particular creed, language group or any religion. It is the unique feature of the democratic government.

• Simplifies the decision-making process

Unlike the direct democracy, indirect democracy the decisions are made by the elected representatives but in a direct democracy the decision is made by all people in the country. This makes the decision making very rigid in direct democracy and simple in indirect democracy.

Limitations

• Many political parties

Indian democratic system has been following the multi-party system. Even though there are a multi-party in the democratic system, all the parties will be formed according to the national interest and they promote all the programs for the upliftment of the people. Whereas in practice the party members will give importance to the party rather than promoting national devotion.

• Lack of strong government

The central will weaker because there are many state governments and many political parties. The government cannot make the independent decisions on its own and it should consider the state government and also satisfy the different ideological political parties.

• Cost of elections

The cost of elections in India is huge. Because in India the elections are being conducted every 5 years and also there are different elections for Panchayat, legislature and Parliament. This leads to a huge cost for the conducted elections.