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-
Franchise
means the
right
of a citizen to
vote
-
Vote
enables citizens to
choose
the people who will
represent
them in the state assemblies and
govern
the country
-
Universal suffrage
means the right to vote is granted as a
fundamental right
, irrespective of race, ethnicity, class or gender
-
The first step towards universal suffrage was taken in the early 19th century focussing on
removing
property requirements
for voting.
-
The next step towards universal suffrage was to grant
voting rights to women
-
Some societies have denied voting rights in the past on the basis of
race or ethnicity
, such as apartheid-era South Africa
- Some universal suffrage systems still exclude some voters, such as convicted criminals , mentally ill , non-citizen residents and citizens below 18
