The concepts and it's historical developments of democracy

The concept of democracy and its historical development

Etymologically, the word "democracy" originates from two Greek words: demos (people) and kratos (rule). This means, it is a form of government in which the people rule and the sovereign power is entrusted to them. Democracy can be practised directly by the people or indirectly through their elected representatives. According to Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government of the people by the people, and for the people. Essentially, Lincoln emphasises that, people should be in the driver's seat in making decision and choices that determine their destiny. For many decades, there has been a serious debate on how democracy should be practised. However, the practice of democracy has been varying in different social-cultural traditions and contexts. Some governments are relatively more representative, participatory, accountable, transparent, and stable than others.

The democratisation process in Tanzania

Democratisation refers to the process of change towards having more democratic forms of rule, or is the process through which a political system becomes democratic. It is the movement towards broad citizenship, equality, binding consultation with citizens, and the protection of citizens from arbitrary state action. The history of democracy in Tanzania can be traced back to the independence era. Mainland Tanzania (Tanganyika) had a multiparty political system. The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), formed in 1954, was the major political party in the pre and post-independence period in Tanganyika. Other political parties that existed during the struggle for independence included the African Nation Congress (ANC), the All Muslim National Union of Tanganyika (AMNUT), and the United Tanganyika Party (UTP). Three more parties were registered after independence, namely the People Convention Party (PCP), African Independent Movement (AIM), and the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Similarly, during Zanzibar's independence of 1963, the political parties that existed on the isles were the Afro-Shiraz Party (ASP), the Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP), the Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party (ZPPP) and the UMMA Party.

The democratisation process is also concerned with the consolidation of democracy. In this regards, it is difficult for a country to return to the mono-party system. Through the multiparty system, the majority of community members and all political actors understand that, whenever a conflict arises the best way to resolve it is establishing democratic politics and constitutional rules. However, democratic consolidation requires several conditions namely, adherence to democratic principles such as the rule of law; an independent judiciary, frequent, competitive, accessible, fair elections, and an active civil society. Therefore, these conditions are inculcated into government institutions. Some of the indicators of democratic consolidation in Tanzania are:

1. Enforcement of human rights: The Bill of Rights was introduced for the first time in the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania by the Fifth Amendment Act of 1984. Moreover, Tanzania has several instruments for enforcing human rights. One of them is the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRGG). The Commission is an independent government institution with the mandate to promote and protect human rights in Tanzania. Its functions include handling complaints about violations of human rights and contravention of the principle of good governance. It advises the government on human rights issues, deals with systemic human rights issues through research, public inquiry and monitoring, and provide education to the public and implements other sensitisation programmes.

2. Affirmative action: The need for gender balance has been an issue in the democratisation process. Most of the reforms concerned with gender equality with respect to women's participation in politics are assessed by looking at the extent to which women are part in decision-making bodies, especially the Parliament.

3. The Establishment of a Permanent Voters' Register (PVR): Elections require clear, transparent, and fair competition rules. The voter registration system used during the 1995 and 2000 general elections was not adequately helpful to build mutual trust amongst the key political actors in the country. A Permanent Voters' Register (PVR) was introduced in response to this challenge. The PVR reduces costs and the tediousness of the election process, and limits the possibility of cheating during elections.

4. Independent legislature: During the one-party era, the Parliament served as a committee of ruling party. This limited its capacity to function as the government's oversight organ. The removal of an article that had made Parliament the government committee, has increased the independence of Parliament. In addition, it has increased its capacity to contribute to the democratisation process through increased representation, accountability, and law-making.

5. Frequent and competitive elections: Elections are an important indicator of the country's level of democratisation. The 1995 general election was the first multiparty election to be held in Tanzania after the reintroductions of multipartism in 1992. Since then, Tanzania has held competitive elections in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020. This has facilitated greater participation of the citizens in decision-making as voters or election candidates. Unlike in some African countries, elections in Tanzania have been generally peacefully.