Last year, during the Houston city council elections, I went to a town hall meeting with our candidate Khalid Khan. After the meeting, we met with the citizens present and one person made a very interesting comment that the participation of good candidates in an election is a sign of a strong democracy. The people of those nations where the best and the brightest decide not to participate in an election can learn much from this simple statement. By abstaining from political participation, they weaken the development of democratic institutions. Unfortunately, Pakistan has been plagued by this malice since its inception when members of influential groups like bureaucrats, military and zamindar took control of the democratic institutions and political parties. In this article we will discuss this situation and also suggest remedies to strengthen the democratic tradition in the country.
Pakistan’s political scene is dominated by a large number of political parties, each representing interests of a small group. A family or clan usually controls a party with an iron grip and no decisions are made without the consent or approval of the controlling family. To legitimize its control over the party, the family drafts the charter and constitutions accordingly. Most of the party positions are nominations rather than elections, which should be the case for a political party that believes in democratic values. This runs anathema to the traditions of democracy where the voice of the people should decide who can represent them not only at the party level but also who should run for elections. Some parties that started with humble beginnings like MQM or ANP have also fallen prey to personal egos and interests. During Imran Khan’s visit to Houston few years ago, he was asked when he would leave chairmanship of the party He gave no satisfactory answer. A similar question was asked from a PPP elected representative about lifetime chairmanship of PPP awarded to Benzir Bhutto. Again, there was no satisfactory answer.
Since military rule has dominated a large part of our independent history, it is in the interest of the ruling generals that their cronies who are always ready to make a compromise at the expense of people control political parties. It is also easier to manipulate this small number of people to ensure the continuity of their military rule. For a candidate or political party to succeed, financial resources are needed to inform the people about the qualifications of the candidates and the program of the party.
Most middle class and educated people do not have these financial resources available to compete with well-financed larger parties funded by landlords or industrialists. Ironically, these landlords and industrialists have accumulated their wealth by enjoying no-farm tax benefit or write-offs of large loans by government owned banks. This is another reason these people do not want to lose political control. In recent times, some religious and ethnic parties have tried to collect campaign funds from people through small contributions in mosques or neighborhoods. But after gaining political power they conveniently forgot the sacrifices of their constituents in the footsteps of other political parties.
In established democracies like India, USA and England, people with middle class backgrounds who are equipped with knowledge, intellect and a desire to serve get an opportunity through their political system to lead their people. This is achieved by separating party positions from elected representative positions. Once a person gets nominated to compete in an election for a representative body he/she has to give up their party positions so that other people get an opportunity. Secondly, serving both on party and representative body creates a conflict of interest because an elected official has to serve all people without considering their party affiliations. In democracies, candidates raise funds for their campaigns instead of spending their personal money. A person who has spent his/her own funds for an election is always tempted to recover that money once elected which also creates a conflict of interest and results in corruption of elected officials. People who support a political party or a candidate should not only honor that person with their vote but should also help that person financially to get elected.
In Pakistan, if we are interested in gradually establishing strong democratic institutions, we have to reform the regulations governing political parties, campaign finance and qualification of the candidates. It should be made mandatory for all political parties to hold elections for their party positions where individual members cast their votes to elect their party leaders. It should also be made mandatory that a person elected to a public office should vacate the party position for other people. We also need to clearly establish the academic and intellectual qualification of a person to run for a public office. Recently imposed condition of a Bachelors degree is a step in the right direction, although many candidates have made a mockery of this condition. We also need to overhaul the campaign finance rules so that a person is asked to raise funds for his campaign instead of spending his own money.
Our democratic process is also plagued by participation of small parties that result in a largely divided parliament and senate which gives rise to horse-trading and compromises that result in a weak government. Only national parties should be allowed to participate for national assembly and senate positions. Regional and ethnic parties can be allowed to form coalitions with national parties to include their candidates to run for national positions. Pakistan is located in a highly volatile region where the country has to be strong internally to maintain its independence and integrity. This cannot be achieved unless we create an environment where qualified people are given an opportunity to represent the interest of the people. If we continue on the present path, our internal weakness can result in disintegration of the federation as well as increased poverty and increased social injustice.
Creating Leader Politicians Last year, during the…
April 19, 2006 at 9:59 pm · Filed under Political Commentary
Creating Leader Politicians
Last year, during the Houston city council elections, I went to a town hall meeting with our candidate Khalid Khan. After the meeting, we met with the citizens present and one person made a very interesting comment that the participation of good candidates in an election is a sign of a strong democracy. The people of those nations where the best and the brightest decide not to participate in an election can learn much from this simple statement. By abstaining from political participation, they weaken the development of democratic institutions. Unfortunately, Pakistan has been plagued by this malice since its inception when members of influential groups like bureaucrats, military and zamindar took control of the democratic institutions and political parties. In this article we will discuss this situation and also suggest remedies to strengthen the democratic tradition in the country.
Pakistan’s political scene is dominated by a large number of political parties, each representing interests of a small group. A family or clan usually controls a party with an iron grip and no decisions are made without the consent or approval of the controlling family. To legitimize its control over the party, the family drafts the charter and constitutions accordingly. Most of the party positions are nominations rather than elections, which should be the case for a political party that believes in democratic values. This runs anathema to the traditions of democracy where the voice of the people should decide who can represent them not only at the party level but also who should run for elections. Some parties that started with humble beginnings like MQM or ANP have also fallen prey to personal egos and interests. During Imran Khan’s visit to Houston few years ago, he was asked when he would leave chairmanship of the party He gave no satisfactory answer. A similar question was asked from a PPP elected representative about lifetime chairmanship of PPP awarded to Benzir Bhutto. Again, there was no satisfactory answer.
Since military rule has dominated a large part of our independent history, it is in the interest of the ruling generals that their cronies who are always ready to make a compromise at the expense of people control political parties. It is also easier to manipulate this small number of people to ensure the continuity of their military rule. For a candidate or political party to succeed, financial resources are needed to inform the people about the qualifications of the candidates and the program of the party.
Most middle class and educated people do not have these financial resources available to compete with well-financed larger parties funded by landlords or industrialists. Ironically, these landlords and industrialists have accumulated their wealth by enjoying no-farm tax benefit or write-offs of large loans by government owned banks. This is another reason these people do not want to lose political control. In recent times, some religious and ethnic parties have tried to collect campaign funds from people through small contributions in mosques or neighborhoods. But after gaining political power they conveniently forgot the sacrifices of their constituents in the footsteps of other political parties.
In established democracies like India, USA and England, people with middle class backgrounds who are equipped with knowledge, intellect and a desire to serve get an opportunity through their political system to lead their people. This is achieved by separating party positions from elected representative positions. Once a person gets nominated to compete in an election for a representative body he/she has to give up their party positions so that other people get an opportunity. Secondly, serving both on party and representative body creates a conflict of interest because an elected official has to serve all people without considering their party affiliations. In democracies, candidates raise funds for their campaigns instead of spending their personal money. A person who has spent his/her own funds for an election is always tempted to recover that money once elected which also creates a conflict of interest and results in corruption of elected officials. People who support a political party or a candidate should not only honor that person with their vote but should also help that person financially to get elected.
In Pakistan, if we are interested in gradually establishing strong democratic institutions, we have to reform the regulations governing political parties, campaign finance and qualification of the candidates. It should be made mandatory for all political parties to hold elections for their party positions where individual members cast their votes to elect their party leaders. It should also be made mandatory that a person elected to a public office should vacate the party position for other people. We also need to clearly establish the academic and intellectual qualification of a person to run for a public office. Recently imposed condition of a Bachelors degree is a step in the right direction, although many candidates have made a mockery of this condition. We also need to overhaul the campaign finance rules so that a person is asked to raise funds for his campaign instead of spending his own money.
Our democratic process is also plagued by participation of small parties that result in a largely divided parliament and senate which gives rise to horse-trading and compromises that result in a weak government. Only national parties should be allowed to participate for national assembly and senate positions. Regional and ethnic parties can be allowed to form coalitions with national parties to include their candidates to run for national positions. Pakistan is located in a highly volatile region where the country has to be strong internally to maintain its independence and integrity. This cannot be achieved unless we create an environment where qualified people are given an opportunity to represent the interest of the people. If we continue on the present path, our internal weakness can result in disintegration of the federation as well as increased poverty and increased social injustice.
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