Lee Jae-myeong's 'party member sovereignty' violates the Constitution, the future and democracy are 'unrelated' IDEA report
In countries where democratic systems are implemented, the public evaluates them as ‘below expectations’, the ‘gap’ between the public and experts is large, the future of democracy is reduced in public conversation, and the preference for strong leaders who ‘ignore parliament and elections’ has increased.
IDEA International said the results of the April Perceptions of Democracy Survey (PODS) report in 17 countries, including Korea and the United States, show significant gaps between public and expert evaluations of democracy, and between the democratic experiences of general respondents and marginalized individuals. It was announced on the 11th that
The report from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), a Swedish-based group of members from 35 countries, said that “democratic institutions are not meeting people’s expectations” and that it “opens the door to dialogue about the future of democracy.” He concluded, “The era in which people’s perception was focused on is over.”
Popular sovereignty means <the ruler is determined by the people and all exercise of the country's ruling power is done by the people> to <sovereignty is the highest power at home and independent power abroad, and in popular sovereignty it means 'the power of independence '. Naver Knowledge Dictionary stated that 'the people' does not mean individual citizens, but 'the entire people as an ideological and political unity.' The Constitution states in Article 1, Paragraph 2, 'The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea belongs to the people , and all power is vested in the people.' He directly stated that popular sovereignty comes from the people, rejecting the ideology of 'party member sovereignty'.
The preamble to the Constitution clearly states that the subjects of constitution-making and constitutional amendments are the people, and for the materialization of popular sovereignty, it states the principles of indirect democracy (parliamentary system, election system, guarantee of the right to hold public office) and, as an exception, the implementation of direct democracy (referendum).
The Democratic Party's platform is to <represent the interests of the working class and the middle class, and strive to ensure that everyone is guaranteed equal rights without discrimination. “We will open a new era by inheriting the political, economic, and social reforms and achievements in inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation achieved by the Democratic Party government together with the people,” and prohibited “party members’ domination of the people.”
The Democratic Party’s ‘party constitution’ stipulates in Article 6, ‘Party Member Rights and Obligations’, <1. Obligation to follow the party’s platform and basic policies> <2. The obligation to comply with the party constitution and rules and follow the party theory and name was clearly stated, and the domination of National Assembly nominees by ‘party member sovereignty’ was prohibited.
'Sovereignty' means <the power to ultimately decide the nation's decision> and <having the highest absolute power internally and independence externally>, and 'party member sovereignty' is 'a system for exercising national decision-making rights by political party members'. Fascism and the Nazi Party of the 'party state domination system' are historical experiences.
The IDEA report said, “Less than half of the people in 17 countries are satisfied with their governments,” and included the United States, India, and Brazil, the three most democratic countries, among the “17 countries dissatisfied with their governments.”
“In 17 countries, less than half of the people are satisfied with their government,” the report said. “In eight countries, more people have a favorable view of ‘a strong leader who does not have to worry about parliament or elections.’”
The high preference for a strong leader over a democratic system pointed to India and Tanzania, the report said, "as countries where approval ratings for 'strong leaders' are relatively high."
In particular, the IDEA report found that the poorest people in Brazil, Colombia, Romania, and Sierra Leone were more likely to support government performance than the rest of the population, pointing to ‘distrust of democratic institutions’ as the reason for the extreme poor’s tendency to vote conservatively.
Regarding the expansion of future generations of voters, the new generation's desire for economic growth was evaluated as superior to the democratic system, saying, "The majority feel that they are doing better economically than their parents."
The IDEA report is a 95-page report titled 'Survey on Perceptions of Democracy' and has been published this year in Korea, the United States, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Gambia, India, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. , is based on surveys conducted in the Solomon Islands, Taiwan, and Tanzania.
Distrust of the judicial system is particularly high in democracies, with "less than half of the people in 18 countries believing that the courts 'always' or 'often' enforce the judicial system."
The report found that Iraqis are more likely to believe in access to justice (28% 'always' or 'often') than Americans (26%), while in Denmark a majority of people believe that courts often or always provide equal access to justice. It was stated that it was the only country that it felt offered such access.
The report said the survey was conducted by YouGov and GeoPoll via phone and internet last year, and was conducted only in India in January.
International IDEA was established in Stockholm on February 27, 1995 by its 14 founding members as an international intergovernmental organization, and has influenced ‘democracy and electoral processes’ around the world.
With important elections taking place in 40 countries this year, the report aims to "identify important but often overlooked differences between different groups' evaluations and attitudes toward democracy."