Page "Democracy" Paragraph 14

During the Middle Ages, there were various systems involving elections or assemblies, although often only involving a small amount of the population, the election of Gopala in Bengal region of Indian Subcontinent, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ( 10 % of population ), the Althing in Iceland, the Løgting in the Faeroe Islands, certain medieval Italian city-states such as Venice, the tuatha system in early medieval Ireland, the Veche in Novgorod and Pskov Republics of medieval Russia, Scandinavian Things, The States in Tirol and Switzerland and the autonomous merchant city of Sakai in the 16th century in Japan.

However, participation was often restricted to a minority, and so may be better classified as oligarchy.

Most regions in medieval Europe were ruled by clergy or feudal lords.