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A major sign of liberal representative democracy.

Democracy is the most popular form of government in the world. Today most of the countries in the world are democracies. The word ‘democracy' is derived from two Greek words- demos and kratia meaning public and power respectively. Democracy implies giving the power to the people of the country. It can be defined as the government that is for the people, of the people and by the people. Thus, democracy is the form of governance in which the public has the ultimate power in decision making.

The liberal democracy gives more importance to personal thoughts, interests, independence, rights and duties. It gives more emphasis to the rule of law, separation of powers and duties, functioning of government, open society, civil liberties, political freedom, constitutionalism and other political thoughts. Liberal democracy is based on some basic guidelines:

• Everyone is considered to be rational and intelligent who takes informed decisions.

• Everyone is equal in political, social, economic and moral spheres.

• Every action should be based on the constitution. The principle of a limited rule should be followed.

• All the authority and power is vested in the sovereign citizens. They are the safe keepers of the governance and rule in the country.

• The rule for the formation of government and governance is clearly specified. The government is selected by considering the principle of majority. They should be acceptable to the public and rule according to their needs and interests. They should be accountable to the public for their actions.

• Everyone has their rights and duties to be followed. No one can be denied their rights and liberties and it should be properly governed and protected by an independent and impartial judiciary.

• There should be a spirit of competition within the political system involving more than one political party. Free and fair elections should be conducted within the tenure specified with the active participation of the public and parties.

• The public opinion should be considered while framing rules and regulations.

For the efficient functioning of the social and political system of the world, a form of governance that co-ordinates all the perspectives should be adopted.