The following basic principles must exist in order for a government to be considered democratic.

1.    Citizen Participation

2.    Equality

3.    Political Tolerance

4.    Accountability

5.    Transparency

6.    Regular, Free, and Fair Elections

7.    Economic Freedom

8.    Control of the Abuse of Power

9.    Bill of Rights

10.    Accepting the Results of Elections

11.    Human Rights

12.    Multi-Party System

13.    The Rule of Law

http://www.streetlaw.org/democlesson.html Lesson adapted from www.streetlaw.com