The latter has reached alarming proportions in many countries. Corruption is rampant and pervasive. Private money that sponsors political party campaigns has proven to be a danger to democracy as the monied are able to buy governments in waiting ahead of elections – a phenomenon that often results in state capture by private interests with the result that governments become accountable to those who sponsored them to win power than the people. Private funding of political parties needs to be regulated.
All the above instances have led to massive civil society disengagement from the electoral process and the death of participatory democracy. Democracy should never be understood as simply voting every election cycle. It must involve continuous participation of the people in the manner in which they are governed.
