Support for Democratic Development
| Date | 01 June 1998 |
| Author | Jean-Pierre Kingsley |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209805300203 |
| Published date | 01 June 1998 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
JEAN-PIERRE
KINGSLEY
Support
for
democratic
development
Sharing
Canada's
elections
expertise
THIS
DECADE
HAS
SEEN
A
GLOBAL
WAVE
OF
DEMOCRATIZATION -
or
at
least
attempts
at
it
-
on
an
unprecedented
scale.
In
some
parts
of
the
world,
the
trend
is
rooted
in
the
decay
or
fall
of
communism;
else-
where,
nations
are
evolving from
single-party
to
multi-party
states
because
of
related
or
other
factors.
Canada
supports
the
process
of
democratization
as
one
element
of
a
foreign
policy
concerned
with
peace-building,
human
rights,
and
security.
Assistance
in
organizing
and
conducting
elections
is
just
one
form this
support
has
taken.
Free
and
fair
elections
often
constitute
one
of
the
first
steps in
the
democratization
process.
When
the means
by
which
the
people
can
express
their
collective
will
freely
and
regularly
on
the
basis
of
univer-
sal,
equal,
and
secret
suffrage
is
absent,
no
government
can
pretend
to
have
the
legitimacy required
to
exercise
the
powers
of
a
democratic
state.
This
principle
is
embodied
in
the
Universal
Declaration
of
Human
Rights
(whose
50th
anniversary
is
being
celebrated this
year)
and
elab-
orated
in
the
1996
International
Covenant
on
Civil
and
Political
Rights
of
1966. Article
21
of
the
Universal
Declaration
states
that
'Everyone
has
the
right
to
take
part
in
the
government
of
his
country,
directly
or
through
freely
chosen
representatives
...
The
will
of
the
peo-
Jean-Pierre
Kingsley
is
the ChiefElectoral
Officer
of
Canada.
The
views
expressed
in
this
article
are
his
alone.
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Spring
1998
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