GOLD Report I - UCLG

313without being based on democratic principles17 . Conversely, an organization basedon democratic principles may becentralized.Now, the link between decentralizationand democracy has become narrower andmore direct, as in the past in Europe, thelink between parliamentary government,arising out of the census system, anddemocracy. Decentralization, understoodin its strictest sense as a methodof organization, today impliesdemocracy. It presupposes the selfgovernmentof local authorities inthe framework of the law, but it isdemocracy which is the basis forlocal self-government. Democracyeffectively allows citizens to expresscollective preferences which direct theexercise of power held by local authoritiesby law. This has not always been thecase: property ownership as a requirementfor voting or the recognized authorityof the traditional elite have in thepast constituted the basis, or the drivingforce, for decentralization.This has not completely disappeared. Onthe contrary, in certain countries, the institutionsgive community leaders or religiouschiefs a controlling role in civilsociety and the law sometimes givesthem a place in the representative bodiesexercising public powers (for example:Ghana, Uganda, Niger, South Africa...).In certain Middle Eastern countries, theauthority of members of the local aristocracyis influential even though there areelections (UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain).Despite these surviving customs, the generaltrend is towards the election of localgovernment bodies and to the developmentof instituted forms of popular participation.Even if the election is notdisputed, it is considered to be essentialfor the authority and the legitimacy of thelocal authorities and one can see that legislationtends to introduce a degree ofpossibility of choice or influence for electors(Vietnam, 2004 local elections; Chinaat village or district committee level).In conclusion, it is obvious that a systemof reference for decentralization is beingconsolidated which includes recognizinglocal self-government and calls for representativeelected institutions and participatoryinstitutions by which the peoplemay express their collective preferencesand interests. We should underline thatthis system of reference is not foundeverywhere, but it is challenged by anyother reference system and continues tospread. Without question, its strengthlies in its ability to take form in a widevariety of institutional models.17. A renowned Frenchlegal expert, CharlesEisenmann, wrote:“decentralization isa system without agiven politicalcolour; it can beequallyundemocratic anddemocratic”; all thatis required is thatthe designation oflocal authority be“independent ofcentral authority”(op. cit. p.277).