Roots of Democracy, The People

Democracy only works if people participate. That sounds obvious, but unless people actively participate in the process, democracy doesn't work. 

Democracy is a system of government in which all citizens have an equal say in the laws and decisions that affect their lives. It should operate through open and free debate, and the will of the majority should prevail. People voting or participating in democratic elections is important because it gives the people a say in how their country is run. It also ensures that the government is accountable to the people. For this reason, the article shall delve more into local government role in a democracy, provided that, soon Lesotho shall host this pivotal elections in September 2023.

Nonetheless, failure for the people to participate in democratic elections has proven to negatively affect the national economy in general on so many occasions. I can boldy attest this reason being the major reason for under development in impoverished countries thus people are to be significantly condemned for those particular countries unfavourable socio-economic conditions. Undeniably, this phenomenon is pertained in these particular countries, sadly, history shows that democracies in danger of losing their freedom register frighteningly low voter turnouts, Lesotho or developing in mind. In thriving democracies (developed states ), people vote in large numbers and the people's voice remains supreme. 

NB: voter stats since '66

Subsequently, possible consequence of low voter turnout among the poor could be that their voices are not heard as loudly in the political arena as they ought to be, which could lead to policies and decisions that are not as beneficial to them as they could be. Additionally, if the poor are not engaged in the democratic process, they may be less likely to hold their government accountable or participate in civic activities, worsened by absence of solid democratic institutions and higher degree of political-civic rights which could further exacerbate their disadvantaged stance further towards socio-economic and political growth.  

Moreover, the leaders tend to take advantage of this lack of education in developing countries are there thorough procedures of accountability and responsibility from elected people to lead. This gradually decrease voter turn out each time elections take place within specific period, which in turn affect certain economic growth possibilities such as GDP per capita, political stability and life expectancy negatively. This scenario is clutching at straws with developing countries exclusively with little or no solutions. 

Some possible reasons that the poor may not value voting in a democratic state include a lack of education or awareness about the importance of voting, a feeling that their vote won't make a difference, or a belief that the political system is rigged against them. Additionally, poverty can often be accompanied by other factors such as illiteracy or a lack of access to transportation, which can make it more difficult for people to participate in the voting process. This results from mamoth education reach difference between urban areas and rural areas, unmatched centralization of resources has resulted in distribution imbalance of literacy.

Some basic concepts that every voter should be acquainted with in a democratic state require literacy to value ; the constitution, elections role, local government, budget, and parliament role. The constitution lays out the basic framework of the government and sets forth the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Elections are held regularly to allow the public to choose their representatives in government. The budget is the document that outlines the government's planned spending for the upcoming year, and parliament is the legislative branch of government that creates laws and debates issues affecting the country.

Notably, budget is important in a democratic state because it allows the public to see how the government plans to spend taxpayers, voters, money and how it will affect taxpayers. It is also through the budget that the government can announce its priorities and goals for the upcoming year to accommodate local government tatgets. There can be a number of impacts due to the ignorance of the national budget in a democratic state. One impact could be that the public may not be able to hold the government accountable for its actions if they do not understand how the government is spending its money. Additionally, if the public is not aware of the budget, they may not be able to understand how it affects them financially.

What can minimize the dreadful impacts ?  

Local government is the level of governance closest to the people that draws the people nearer to the national budget thus more insight as to what the budget stood for in representation of the people. It is responsible for services like water, healthcare, waste, transportation, and recreation etc. Unfortunately, developed countries thrive best at their local governance than developing countries ever will based on prior mentioned, unscrupulous courtesies by unfit leaders and the people's insufficient education about democracy and no desire to partake due to its frequent failure. This is constituted of illiteracy as a major factor for this fall out amongst the people. 

The ideal democratic state would have a local governor who is responsive to the needs of the people and is committed to democracy and the rule of law. It is in the hands of the voters to elect such individual to accommodate the necessities of the local government thus it is mandatory to critically vote for an individual of great intent and adherence to voters needs. 

To measure credibility, few factors can be singled out : understanding of constitution, role to play in local government, goal driven personality and responsibility and accountability traits. Eluding these, shall prolong the under development struggled plagued by the developing countries in expense of mamoth budgets that shall worsen the socio-economic conditions further. The power to elect somebody up for that tasks lay upon voters as usual. 

Let's go for the upcoming September 2023 Local Elections to vote for respective representatives to comprehensively address local government needs. 

Diploma in Computer Systems Engineer 

Tech Geek and Research Analyst

Co-founder of CodeBurst PTY LTD 

tpotloane1967@gmail.com 

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