Wybory w katolickim nauczaniu społecznym

Abstract

Free election, which allows to put in practice the idea of common good, is an important element of a parliamentary system of government. However, this indirect participation of the citizens in the governing of the country by means of the election of their parliamentary representatives, who are supposed to put in practice the will of their electors requires some proper political preparation and social consciousness. All social groups should contribute to the preparation of the citizens for the responsibility for the country and its policy. Free election of the authorities and the political system was encouraged during the Second Council of Vatican, and thus The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church in the Contemporary World says: „The persons who go to make up the political community are many and varied; quite rightly, they may veer towards widely differing points of view. Therefore, lest the political community be ruined while everyone follows his own opinion, an authority is needed to guide the energies of all towards the common good-not mechanically or despotically, but by acting above all as a moral force based on freedom and a sense of responsibility. It is clear that the political community and public authority are based on human nature, and therefore that they need belong to an order established by God; nevertheless, the choice of the political régime and the appointment of rulers are left to the free decision of the citizens” (GS, 74). Wherever law and government are decided upon by means of election, there, the way of conducting this election is a key aspect of the whole political system. The way of conducting the election is called electoral law and determines the conditions and canon of the election. The primary and most important condition of conducting the democratic election is political freedom in the country. No one or nothing, nor any kind of pressure or terror and deceit can influence the result of the election or determine it in advance. Freedom is not merchandise which a countty can sell to the citizens who can consume it. Important elements of political independence are decentralisation and selfgovernment of the autonomic parts. Citizens, various groups and communities should be given the possibility to have their own initiative and the responsibility, also in the sphere of deciding who will perform chief political functions. John Paul II reminds about that, too, writing in the encyclical Centesimas Annus (1991): The negligence of human nature, which was created for freedom is not only intolerable but also impossible in practice. Whenever social organisation restricts or eliminates the sphere of freedom the social life undergoes steady disintegration and dies out (cf. CA, 25). According to the complete democratic canon, electoral law should guarantee political election characterised by „the five features”: direct, common, equal, secret and proportional.