Quote: Dita's Slot Meter "Just to rewind this all back a bit - Why did the Ukranians in Kiev choose to overthrow their elected leader, rather than wait for an election, where they could have simply voted him out?
It seems to me that some of these more backward nations (Egypt being another recent example) don't seem to grasp the concept of democracy.'"
Why did people riot when the poll tax was introduced rather than just wait to vote Labour in the next election?
Democracy is more than just an elected dictatorship where citizens vote for a government that is then able to act as it wishes for 4-5 years. The purpose of democratic government is to uphold individual liberty and represent its citizens. Governments must represent the electorate at all time, not merely at election time. When a government departs from the promises that it was elected on or aligns itself against public opinion or acts in a way that threatens individual liberty it loses it legitimacy and right to govern.
The government in Egypt was passing illiberal laws that were persecuting minorities, eroding women's rights, undermining the freedom of the press amongst other things. It was implementing the beginnings of a dictatorship. The Egyptians who had only recently given their lives to overthrow one dictatorship were not keen on seeing it replaced with a new one. Unlike many British commentators they actually grasp the concept of democracy i.e. as a guarantor of freedom and rule of the people, rather than fetishing putting a cross in a box.
