MAJOR PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY

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Welcome to class! 

In today’s class, we will be talking about the major pillars of democracy. Enjoy the class!

Major Pillars of Democracy

Pillars of democracy are the human and non-human factors that contribute to the smooth running of democratic processes in a given democratic system.

Constitution

The constitution is the fundamental laws, rules, regulations and other related elements according to which democratic state are expected to be governed. It can also be defined as a book or document that contains the rules and principles by which a state is governed. It is a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed. The constitution of a country dictates how power is shared among the arms of Government and the rights and duties of citizens in the country.

Sources of constitution

The main sources of Nigerian Constitution include the following:

1. History of the people
2. Decrees
3. Convention
4. The custom of the people
5. Acts of parliament

Constitution as a major pillar of democracy

Constitutions can be regarded as a pillar of democracy because of the following functions its performs in a country

1. It sets the limit of power of the use of powers of Government
2. It protects the right of the minority
3. The constitution defines the right and power of Government
4. It helps to share power among the arms of Government
   

5. It also spelt out political institution, party system, tenure of office of Government, etc.
6. The constitution protects the right of the minority
7. It reflects the sovereign will of the people.
8. Lays down of the aims, objectives, values and goals which the people want to secure.
9. It contains a description and guarantee of the fundamental rights of the people.
10. It gives a detailed account of the organization of the government. The organization, powers and functions of its three organs of the and their interrelationship.
    

11. In a federation, the Constitution lays down the division of powers between the central government and the governments of the federating states/provinces. It is binding upon both the centre and the state governments.
12. It specifies the power and method of amendment of the Constitution.
13. The constitution governs all and no one can violate its rules.
14. It lays down the election system
15. It provides for the independence of judiciary and rule of law.

 

In our next class, we will be talking about the Arms of Government.  We hope you enjoyed the class.

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