ABSTRACT
The historical content of democracy is inextricably bound up with the long struggle against arbitrary power, with the notions of liberty, individual rights, consent, and representation in terms of which that struggle against church, state, guild was carried out. Modern democratic institutions had their origins in the persistent efforts of Englishmen to limit the power and jurisdiction of their kings. Elections are the central institution of democracy. All the essential elements of democracy are present in democratic elections. Democratic elections are not merely symbolic legitimations or collective affirmations. The socio-political institutions most important for democratic elections are political parties which, in fact, have developed wherever democratic government exists. Democratic leaders come and go with the regularity of elections. The Sandinistas' description concerning the elections is part of a larger policy of revolution by obfuscation. Certainly, some social and economic conditions, some political traditions, some cultures, make holding democratic elections and functioning within democratic governments easier.
