It (democracy) is far more than merely participating in free…

It (democracy) is far more than merely participating in free and fair elections for a new government. It is about playing by a set of rules, respecting those rules and accepting the result even when it may not be what one had hoped for.

Sourced

Address to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in Nadi, 8 September 2005

Other Graeme Leung Quotes

In the program of the Turkish government, nothing is said of a Turkification of the Arabs. I have never intended anything like that nor even thought of it. Our sole purpose is to strengthen the feeling of fraternity between the Ottoman-Turkish and the Ottoman-Arab elements and to make the latter understand that the national interests of the Arabs are identical to those of the Turks and that any harm to one of them necessarily means harm to the other. The Ottoman-Turkish and the Ottoman-Arab elements have to rally to the caliphate without afterthoughts if they want to survive. - View Quote Details on In the program of the Turkish government, nothing is said…
800,000 Armenian deportees were actually killed… by holding the guilty accountable, the government is intent on cleansing the bloody past. - View Quote Details on 800,000 Armenian deportees were actually killed… by holding the guilty…
If we continue to pardon or excuse the wrongdoers who commit acts of criminality in unsettling an elected government, we don’t have any guarantee, do we, that this kind of exercise won’t be repeated in the future. - View Quote Details on If we continue to pardon or excuse the wrongdoers who…
I am ashamed of my nation. - View Quote Details on I am ashamed of my nation.
Our sole aim was, by virtue of this war, to rid ourselves of the lot of them, however many international decisions there were. Each one represented a blow to our…independence…And, just as it was our dearly held goal to lift the Capitulations and the Mt. Lebanon concessions, we also desired to destroy the signed understanding concerning the reforms in Eastern Anatolia… - View Quote Details on Our sole aim was, by virtue of this war, to…
These fears (held by indigenous Fijians ) must not be ridiculed but understood and addressed. In the final analysis it will be counterproductive to impose democracy on people who have yet to fully understand how it will sit against everything they believe in. - View Quote Details on These fears (held by indigenous Fijians ) must not be…
If the law is bad and unpopular, it is for the people through the ballot box, to show their displeasure. But in a democracy, it is not the business of the military, however well-intentioned, to interfere with the law-making process. - View Quote Details on If the law is bad and unpopular, it is for…
It’s the way we are - our people show their respect to their leaders by keeping quiet. It is considered rude to speak your mind. - View Quote Details on It’s the way we are - our people show their…
The creation of a legal eligibility allowing the grant of an amnesty for treason is abhorrent and unacceptable. The Bill was supposed to be a search for the truth behind the tragedy of 2000, but the Bill never once mentions the word “truth”. - View Quote Details on The creation of a legal eligibility allowing the grant of…
The evidence shows a growing albeit reluctant acceptance of the rule of law. But time, patience and a genuine commitment not just of the country’s leaders towards creating an environment that will allow democracy, human rights and the rule of law to flourish, will be required. - View Quote Details on The evidence shows a growing albeit reluctant acceptance of the…