Basic features of democracy include:
1. Political freedom This means a freedom of choice, social order and form of government. It refers to the right of people to determine and change constitutional order and ensure the protection of human rights.
2. Equality of citizenship This means equality of all people before the law, equal responsibility for any committed offense and the right to equal protection before court. Equality is guaranteed for all citizens: there can be no privileges or restrictions on the grounds of race, color, political beliefs, religious or other convictions, ethnic or social origin, property status, residence, linguistic or other grounds. The most important aspect is the equality of rights and freedoms of men and women who have the same opportunities for their implementation.
3. Selectivity of state bodies This implies formation of authorities and local government through the people's will. It ensures their replaceability, control and equal opportunity to exercise electoral rights for everybody. In a democratic state, the same people should not permanently occupy positions in government bodies for a long time: this causes distrust of citizens and leads to a loss of legitimacy of these bodies.
4. Separation of powers This means interdependence and mutual restrictions are imposed on different branches of power: legislative, executive, judicial. It serves as an obstacle to the transformation of power into a means of suppressing freedom and equality;
5. Decision-making by the will of the majority with the mandatory observance of the rights of the minority This feature means combination of the will of the majority with guarantees of the rights of the individual who act as a part of minority - ethnic, religious or political. It also means the absence of discrimination, suppression of rights of an individual who is not a part of the majority in decision-making activities.