Democratic Rights

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• Questions
• Summary

Rights are reasonable claims of persons recognised by society and sanctioned by law.

1.  In a democracy, every citizen has to have the right to vote and the right to be elected to government.
2. For democratic elections to take place it is necessary that citizens should have the right to express their opinion, form political parties and take part in political activities.
3. Rights protect minorities from the oppression of the majority. They ensure that the majority cannot do whatever it likes. Rights are guarantees which can be used when things go wrong.
4. The government should protect the citizens’ rights. But sometimes elected governments may not protect or may even attack the rights of their own citizens.
5. That is why some rights need to be placed higher than the government so that the government cannot violate these. In most democracies the basic rights of the citizen are written down in the constitution.

1. Rights sustain a democracy.
2. They give to every citizen a right to vote and the right to be elected to government.
3. They allow citizens to express their views freely, form parties and take part in political activities.
4. Rights are guarantees when things go wrong. They do not allow the majority to dominate the minority.
5. Some rights are placed higher than the government so that the government does not violate them.