Ali Abdullah Saleh Quotes

We believe that an Iraqi founding national assembly, freely elected, must decide the future of Iraq.

Maintain democracy or go to dictatorship: that is what is at stake in these elections.

It is an essential tenet of our whole representative form of government, the idea that there should not be some tyranny which makes it so nobody can even have a chance to vote.

Democracies, unlike dictatorships, are forgiving and generous, but they cannot survive unless they fight.

In nation after nation, democracy has taken the place of autocracy.

It's actually very easy for democracy to disappear.

We have to implant democracies where there are now dictatorships.

Indian democracy has often been likened to the stately progress of the elephant - ponderous in its gait and reluctant to change course, but not easily swayed from its new path when it does.

I always assume that democracy is the only good form of government, quite frankly, and democracy is always to be preferred.

Democracy is the wholesome and pure air without which a socialist public organization cannot live a full-blooded life.

In survey after survey, the Iraqi people say, 'We want to choose our leaders.'

One is actually the democracy here, you know, people are, people assume that this election means that there is democracy in Pakistan. There is no democracy.

The people want to go back to the time when democracy was in full bloom.

Democracy is not imperialism… Imposing democracy is an oxymoron ….You can’t have democracy instantly.

I think democracy is a universal idea and I think letting people rule themselves happens to be something that serves America and America’s interests.

We cannot impose democracy where it has no constituency.

We can not have free government without elections. And if the rebellion could force us to forgo, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have conquered or ruined us.

If you have an election no mater how free, if you do not have a government that respects people’s rights, you don’t have a democracy.

The Muslim world needs democracy. It wants democracy. But it should be real democracy and not just democracy by name only... Democracy has done some good things. It has saved humanity from despots and dictators who act like gods. The details should be left to the people. Let them decide for themselves

The people, have chosen to be governed under such and such principles. They have not chosen to be governed or proposed to submit upon any other.

We had a revolution 2 years ago, and we see a people moving from a completely authoritarian system into a democracy. They don’t know how democracy works. They don’t know the ingredients of a democracy.

The United States supports the idea that every people should have the right to make a free choice as to the kind of government they want.

The worldwide demand for democratic government in the modern era arose due to the success of the countries practicing it.

Once confined to a handful of wealthy countries, it [democracy] became, in a short period of time, the most popular political system in the world. In 1900, only 10 countries were democracies. By mid-century, the number had increased to 30…. By 2005 fully 119 of the world’s 190 countries had become democracies.

In Vietnam also, the right of self-determination applies even if free elections turn out to be unfavorable.