In 'Everybody deserves democracy' (September 5), Chris Patten argues that democracy should have no cultural boundaries.

While he says that democracy should not be imposed by force, he agrees to the use of 'external pressure'. Economic incentives provided by the west are the catalyst in the democratisation process.

Mr Patten, the European Union's commissioner for external relations, may be genuine in believing that democracy is the only form of governance, but his failure to point out the drawbacks of the system underlines the hypocrisy of his argument. The fundamental problem with democracy is that votes can be bought. Therefore, a political leader is chosen based on financial gains to his people, not on his political correctness or moral consciousness.