Q1.
Fig. 7.1. Importance of elections in a democracy. (Fill in the two empty boxes to indicate why elections are important for democratic functioning, and discuss how each one of them is ensured through elections.)
Answer
The wheel already prints four segments around the word Elections — Accountability, Representation, Equality and Legitimacy — and leaves two segments blank. Two good fillings, both taken from ideas the chapter itself uses, are Participation and Peaceful Change of Government.
| Segment | What it means | How the election itself ensures it |
|---|---|---|
| Accountability | Representatives must answer for their record | The five-year term ends and they must face the voters again |
| Representation | Every constituency has a voice in the legislature | Seats are distributed across constituencies and each elects a member |
| Equality | Every adult citizen counts the same | One person, one vote; RPA 1950 secures the vote to all citizens of 18 and above without discrimination |
| Legitimacy | The government has the right to govern | Power is claimed only after a public, verifiable mandate |
| Participation | Citizens take an active part in running the country | Voting, campaigning, standing as a candidate and being a polling agent are all open to citizens; the ECI's inclusion measures widen this further |
| Peaceful change of government | Power passes without force | The result of the count, not a struggle in the streets, decides who governs; the losing side becomes the Opposition (Fig. 7.11) |
Why these two fit: the four printed segments describe what an election produces. The two added ones describe what it replaces — apathy, and the use of force to settle who rules. Together the six explain why the chapter calls elections "the soul of democracy".
Other defensible fillings: Choice, Transparency, Inclusion or Public accountability of parties would also be accepted, as long as you can explain, as the figure asks, exactly how the act of holding an election secures it.