Democracy (Earth-2356)

Democracy is a system of government in which elected officials, such as senators or representatives, represent their constituents as members of the governing body of a state, such as the Galactic Senate. The Galactic Republic was the democratic union that governed the galaxy for thousands of years before the Clone Wars, with senators representing their respective homeworlds in the Republic Senate.

The rise of the fascist Galactic Empire effectively ended the rule of democracy on the galactic level. However, the self-anointed Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine tolerated the continued existence of the Senate—reformed as the Imperial Senate—for two decades  in order to maintain control over the thousands of star systems that composed the Empire. Following the completion of the first Death Star in 0 BBY, the Emperor formally dissolved the Senate and transferred control of the Empire's territories to the regional governors. As a result, the last remnant of the democratic Republic was removed from the Empire.

Source

 * https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Democracy