All regimes throughout modern history have come to power through elections, said journalist and analyst Xhelal Neziri from the BIRC Institute during a CIVIL-organized panel titled “Democratic Backsliding: Implications and Consequences” held on October 9 in Skopje.
“When we speak about democracy and the defense of democratic values, we should remember that systems of governance which fail to deliver concrete results—or even the minimum expected outcomes for citizens—inevitably become unpopular,” Neziri said.
Recalling the transition of Central and Eastern European countries in the 1990s from single-party to multi-party systems, Neziri noted that expectations at the time were high. “But a decade later, a regional survey showed alarming results—many people felt they had lived better lives when things were actually worse,” he said.
“To defend democracy, we must fight for its functionality—for a system that delivers results,” Neziri added.
He questioned whether new governments and institutions in post-communist societies had truly implemented decisions made in the public interest. “We voted, formed new parties and administrations, but were those decisions executed by bureaucracies inherited from the old system and still operating with an outdated mentality? These are the questions through which we should assess the functionality of democracy,” Neziri said.
He argued that while democracy may have brought freedom, it has failed to ensure equality, especially in the social sphere. “People may have the freedom to vote, but they still face extreme partisanship,” he said.
Neziri also pointed to the growing gap between citizens and politicians. “Citizens are getting poorer, while many politicians—though not all—enter politics as social cases and leave as businessmen,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Neziri said that everyone must work to make democracy deliver for citizens. “If democracy meets even the minimum expectations of the people, it means we have succeeded in defending it,” he said.