Do Referendum Enhance Democracy

A referendum is a process that allows citizens to approve or reject a law passed by a legislature. Citizen can choose to vote yes or no in the ballot. The use of referendum enhance democracy as it is a form of direct democracy which everyone contribute in the making of new laws.

In September 2014, there will be a referendum about ‘Scotland’s Independence’. People in Scotland will have the opportunity to vote and choose whether or not they want to be part of the United Kingdom. Referendum will make people turn up to vote as they feel much more involved with the situation. It will also enhances legitimacy to political decisions made based on the results. This will help the government work productively as they give out there power to the citizens. Furthermore, in order for a referendum to work. At least 50% of the vote need to be secure. Therefore, this promote fairness and justice.

The draw back to referendum is that they do not always work the way we want it to be. The parliament has to power reject any law from the referendum. For example, even if Scotland win the referendum to be independent. The parliament can decide to reject this. Therefore, not all all referendum results will actually happen. This is why in the UK referendum is usually not a popular thing to do as it may interfere with the government’s interests.

If Referendum promoted direct democracy, then it weakens representatives democracy. If there’s direct democracy, then there’s no point of having elected representatives. This is bad because people often do not have sufficient knowledge with how politics work or being too young to understand the issues. For example, some people may not concerned about the economy of Scotland if they become independent.

Lastly, the executives are the one who decide when referendum should be held. Therefore, not every issues will be there for people to vote. The purpose of a referendum is to increase the government’s popularity rather than the people...