The Commonwealth in Action
Here are some of the areas that the Commonwealth is active in.
Encouraging democracyIn a democratic country citizens are aware of their rights and how to protect them. In a democracy there should also be:
- freedom of expression - people can voice their opinions freely, and the press is free to examine the actions of the country's leaders
- freedom of assembly - people can attend meetings and take part in peaceful protests
- independent judges who uphold the rule of law
Making sure elections are fair
All adult citizens should be able to choose who represents them in parliament and local councils by voting at elections. The right to vote is one of the most precious rights we hold.
But elections can be conducted in a way which makes the result undemocratic. For example, electoral boundaries can be drawn up to favour a particular area or ethnic group, people can interfere with the ballot boxes, or people can try to vote more than once. For these reasons, the Commonwealth often sends a team of observers to watch every aspect of how an election is conducted, and write a report to say whether they think it has been fair and free. Over the last 12 years, observer missions have been sent to 25 Commonwealth countries.
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