In relation to the voting processes that take place in a nation, there are several equivalent denominations, such as election, suffrage, popular consultation or electoral process. All share the same general idea: all people who have the right to vote can express their will through the ballot box. Political Elections
Most elections are democratic in character
In some dictatorships, citizens are asked to express their opinion on certain issues. However, in the context of a totalitarian regime, elections do not offer sufficient guarantees.
Democratic elections are associated with a series of requirements and conditions. Some of them are as follows:
1) the electoral process must be regulated by law, Political Elections
2) for the voting to be integral it is necessary to guarantee individual freedoms,
3) political parties exercise control over the voting process,
4) there is an electoral zone or supervisory body that acts as a regulatory body in the face of any possible irregularities. Political Elections
In addition to these conditions, in free elections, there must be legal recognition related to freedom of expression and chambers of popular representation.
The origin of the term elections is found in the culture of Ancient Rome
This word comes from the Latin comitia, which literally means “to go together”. Historically, elections were people’s meetings or assemblies where citizens expressed their opinions on public affairs. This form of popular participation was not the only one, since there was also the Senate, but this institution had an aristocratic character. Political Elections
There were several types of popular assemblies, such as the Comitia Tributa or the Comitia Centuriata. In these meetings the people could express their will. From this historical context comes the expression vox populi. Political Elections
In popular assemblies, decisions of legal value were not taken. The people who participated gave their opinion, applauded or shouted, but their views had no legal value. However, in Roman society , it was believed that these assemblies had a political value, because in them it was possible to know the concerns of the common people.
In short , assemblies were not a system of political representation , but rather a group of citizens grouped into social categories. Political Elections
