psephocracy

How then did Britain […] become a democracy? […] It never did... What we do have is representative government, or the rule of the ballot-box, or (in one word) psephocracy. […] Psephocracy on the British model has been extended, thanks to the advice of British psephocrats, to a couple of dozen nations.

For, true democracy — the acme of good government — and not psephocracy, has its exemplar in all traditional governments of different regions of Black Africa. Our ancestors had ever gone through the charades of resisting unusual dictatorial system of authority asserted by any chief over the community. […] An example of our fathers’ democracy was Kgotla which was recently dispensed with few months ago in Bechuanaland to be replaced with the old fashioned pantomime psephocracy.

Indian democracy is fast degenerating into a psephocracy — a system totally dominated by electoral victories and defeats. The moment you enter office, you begin to think of the next election.