Democracy, rule by the people, can broadly be divided into two subcategories, namely, direct

and indirect democracy. While Direct Democracy involves involvement of the people in the
management of their affairs, Indirect Democracy involves governance by the representatives
of the people. Due to the complexity of the size and functioning of the modern State, direct
democracies have been rendered impracticable in most cases and hence representative
democracies have emerged as the order of the day.
In a representative democracy, elections are usually held on the basis of universal adult
franchise and representation of the people is governed by either of the two dominating types.
The types of representation are functional representation and territorial theory representation.
While the former entails election of representatives by people belonging to a certain
occupation or profession, the latter is centred round division of a nation into constituencies
and election of representatives from every constituency. While in principle, the functional
type may score over the territorial type in that the latter fails to give adequate representation
to all sections of society, in reality the former has largely been practised only in totalitarian
regimes.
Besides the types of representation, the theories of representation evoke greater interest
because they answer questions pertaining to roles, authority, and position et al. of
representatives. There are four major theories of representation which address some of these
issues. The first such theory is the Reactionary Theory of Democracy. This theory while
insisting on the need for order and authority in a State relies largely on the superior wisdom
of the politicians. It is Democratic only so long as it accepts public interest in policy making.
The main exponents of this theory were Thomas Hobbes and Alexander Hamilton. The
second theory of representation is the Conservative Theory of Democracy. This theory
propagates the idea that while people may convey their feelings to the representatives they
must rely on the good sense of the representatives in areas of decision making. However, in
spite of being an elitist theory of Democracy, it provides for the replacement of
representatives through elections. This theory was largely advocated by Edmund Burke and
James Madison.
The third theory of representation which governs elections in most of the Modern era
Democracies is the Liberal Theory of Representation. Contrary to the previous two theories,
this theory holds that representatives are mere agents of the people and that the wisdom of the
people is supreme. The primary function of the representatives is to translate the judgement
of their constituencies into policy instruments. John Locke and Thomas Jefferson were the
prominent supporters of this theory. The Fourth and the last theory of Democracy is the
Radical Theory of Democracy, propounded by JJ Rousseau. This theory states that the
wisdom of the people stands to be diluted by virtue of the process of representation. By
holding the wisdom of the people to the highest esteem, it concludes that Direct Democracy
is the only truly democratic form of government.
Having studied the four major theories of representation, it may be inferred that the liberal
theory of representation may be treated as the most suited to the requirements of
representation. Further, in a Democracy, elections lend legitimacy to the authority of the
government. Under the Democratic system, electoral systems too may be broadly categorised
into the Plurality system, the Majoritarian system and the Proportional Representation
system, Under the Plurality system, the first past the post system is applied wherein the
candidate securing the maximum number of votes is deemed elected. This method of election
is largely followed in Britain, the USA and India. However, this system of election has
largely been criticised for the number of seats won by a party in Parliament may not
correspond to the votes scored by the party. Hence, a party representing a minority of voters
may hold a majority of seats in the Legislature. The issue of minorities has also been debated
under the system. While the proponents of this system hold that it makes the majority more
sensitive to the needs of the minority, the opponents contend that the minority opinion may
come to be totally ignored by the winning party.
The second system of election, namely the Majoritarian system rests on the principle of
absolute majority. This principle is put into practise through two methods, namely, the
Alternate Vote method and the Second Ballot system. In the former, while voters indicate
their preferences for different candidates under the second a re-election is conducted,
generally between the top two candidates, if none of the candidates secure an absolute
majority in the first round. While the former practice has been adopted in Indian Presidential
elections, the latter has been observed in case of the French elections.
The third system of elections, namely the Proportional Representation system has been
widely acclaimed to be the best system of election for it secures a fair representation for both
the minorities as well the majority. The two most prevalent methods adopted under this
system are the List System and the Single Transferable Vote System. While voters are
required to mark their choices in the former, the latter involves marking of preferences and
transfer of votes as per these preferences till the electoral quota is attained by a requisite
number of candidates. The former method is usually found in Germany while the latter is
prevalent in the Irish Republic and Malta.
The system of Proportional Representation may go a long way in securing representation for
ethnic minorities, women and diverse racial groups but it may also create a problem of
majority in the Legislature leading to Coalition Governments. While instability and
ineffectiveness may ensue because of such governments, the system can be bettered in terms
of the voice given to minorities. This can be worked out through the devices of Concurrent
Majority and Consociational Democracy. The former means that any decision may be treated
as valid only after concurrence of all important sections affected by it is obtained, while the
latter entails an elaborate arrangement of minority representation. This arrangement primarily
involves the sharing of power with the minorities and taking them on board in all important
decisions. In this regard Federalism and Minority Veto assume paramount importance.
In conclusion, having analysed the procedural framework and the principles underlying it in a
Democracy, it must be noted that Democracy depends on a few essential conditions. These
are a spirit of toleration among citizens, a high moral character of leaders, a sentiment of
nationality and equality and economic security of all individuals. Nations across the world
must strive towards the attainment of these conditions in order to further the entrenchment of
Democracy as it alone may serve the cause of the people.