READER LETTER | Parties must respect democratic processes

Democracy does not allow government to be dictated to by a party. The party stands for its own constituency, not for the people of the country as a whole. In a democracy, there is nothing like a ruling party – if noted it can be called a majority party.

Not for vetoes in parliament. The speaker is not the decider of decisions. The speaker is like a secretary in parliament. Parliamentary issues are taken to an upper body –neutral and non-political – to be decided upon. Not by a speaker aligned to a political party. The decisions are bound to be biased.

Parliament is a neutral body working towards the interests of the country, not protecting political party members by claiming majorities by means of votes. That is where democracy is wrongly practiced – where are the jurists to rectify this malfeasance?

Parliament cannot be held at the behest of a political party. The country will not progress if this is allowed to continue. All issues coming out of parliament should be made bills by the judiciary after having been scanned, not by parliamentarians who are commissioned by parties to stand for them in parliament. This is all bias too. SA must go back to the true democratic government.

Themba Brown, Soweto