Of course you can, gnu. Happens all the time. Not a good idea most times, but it happens. Sometimes it is a good idea.
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As for democracy, Jack, my view is that being imperfect does not mean a country's political system may not be a democracy, and that being a democracy does not mean that a country's political system is perfect. The USA and the UK are both examples of democracies with political systems that are a long way from perfect, but that's par for the course.