Place and role of elections in democratic states

Abstract

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan asserts itself as a democratic state, the
people of Kazakhstan are the only source of state power, the people exercise state power directly and
through their representatives. Elections are a form of direct exercise of state power by the population
of the Republic, a central element of the political system that expresses the democratic character of the
State. It is the basis for the functioning of all representative bodies of power at the republican and local
levels, municipal bodies, the Head of State and, in some democratic states, the head of local executive
power. Elections recognized as an influential form of democracy that allows citizens to participate in
the political life of the state, to participate in the management of state affairs. The article is devoted to
defining the place and role of elections in the life of a democratic state. For performance of the corresponding
task the article reveals the meaning of elections in the states of a democratic regime, considers
its role in ensuring legitimacy of the current state power as a whole, the function of elections. Besides,
for full conformity of the electoral institute to its purpose in the political system of the state the article
considered the guarantees of realization, protection of electoral rights and justified the necessity of their
improvement.
Key words: state power, democratic state, political system, elections, popular elections, electoral
rights, guarantees of electoral rights, voter, candidate, voting, absenteeism.