The People's Elbow
jokes aside, by people's council i'm assuming you mean something like the politburo in communist systems.
Each system has its pros and cons.
for example, if you had free elections, the people has more say in what goes on. in a system like the communist politburo, the people have to take whatever the council gives them.
the benefit to the people in a country with free elections would mean that they have more liberties to do what they want, amongst other benefits. the drawback is that most of the time the government has to give in to what the people want, even if it's not in the interests of the nation. and if there is a change in the ruling party, most of the time you have many policy changes which could cause economic instability
the benefit of a council like the CCCP is that, you don't elect the members: they select from their stable of candidates. that means political stability because their ideology and policies can continue. if the power is used in a right way, you'll see the country flourishing. they can do what they want. but the drawback is that IF the party is corrupt, you'll see lots of nonsense and crackdowns on the citizens' rights to "freedom"
in an increasingly connected world, of course people will love to elect their own government; you can see that happening in China. BUT it comes with a price. no form of government is truly perfect. what you can only hope for is that the government you have, either elected or via a transfer of power, is able to strike a balance between prospering in the global economy and ensuring the welfare of their people