Where are we wrong?
Engr: Shahid Siddique Khanzada
Why have democratic institutions not been strengthened in Pakistan? While elections in Pakistan have always been held regularly, whether party or non-party, but in our country, the democratic way of thinking and transparent system of governance have not yet been fully implemented, let alone 30% in Pakistan. Democracy in the world does not mean just voting, but also the rule of law and the autonomy of institutions and working for the welfare of the people. Democracy both in the world and in Pakistan means the strength of permanent institutions, transparency and being connected to an educated public. At this time, to save democracy in the country, all political parties in Pakistan will have to work for it by promoting political tolerance, dialogue, media freedom and the rule of law. It is now becoming inevitable for every political party to enlighten the educated middle class youth in their respective parties, along with bringing these youth forward in their parties and enlightening them with democratic values, political awareness and civic responsibilities. Due to the kind of politics that is being conducted or is being conducted today, the public's trust in our democratic values is decreasing, lest the public's trust be completely lost because when the public loses trust in their democratic institutions, they protest by not voting. It has been seen in elections that the majority of the people do not vote, but then governments are formed, but without the acceptance of the people, those governments neither have their influence among the people nor are they able to create any image of themselves worldwide. And the parliament formed through the so-called elections is also losing its prestige day by day and as a result, the authoritarian mood in every institution and the people in the country is gaining strength. Examples of which the public sees every day in any government or private institution. A democratic system or government suffers a blow when the elected democratic government is overthrown by opposition political parties for their own political interests and to impose a democratic dictatorship in the country. And democratic power and authority are concentrated in a few hands. Once upon a time, the democratic system was trusted all over the world, but now it is gradually declining in every country. At present, the trust of the people in state institutions in democratic countries of the world is weakening. This is a warning that if this decline is not stopped, undemocratic forces will prevail. At present, public distrust of parliament has increased in about 38 countries of the world, which is clear from various news channels, newspapers, magazines and research. These countries include Brazil, Argentina, France, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Latin America. Since the popular and famous political parties in Pakistan have failed miserably and disgracefully in solving the basic problems of the people for almost 79 years, the prestige of all institutions of Pakistan, including the Parliament, has been badly affected in the eyes of the Pakistani people. Democratic governments in Pakistan have not been able to control terrorism at all and have failed miserably in this, while the performance of Pakistani governments in the past and present has never been satisfactory in the rehabilitation of people affected by floods or other natural disasters. At present, even after 77 years, good governance in Pakistan still seems like a dream. While the majority of senior analysts and senior journalists of Pakistani politics have the same observation for Pakistan that despite severe difficulties, the people still consider the democratic system better than dictatorship. While according to reports of various Pakistani and international journals in the 2024 elections, there was a significant increase in the voting rate in Pakistan's elections. Despite coercion, fear and political revenge, 60.6 million or sixty million people exercised their right to vote. The 2024 elections have seen an increase of 5.5 million votes compared to the 2018 elections. At this time, to prevent the decline of democracy, all political parties should ensure democratic processes within their parties and give political workers about 30% of the vote to elect party officials and election candidates. So that democracy can be made participatory and social, not a family inheritance. Without the rule of law and provision of cheap and prompt justice and social justice in the country, the system of democracy cannot be made stable and dignified. The main reason for the failure and decline of democracy in Pakistan is that there is no foundation for democracy. The democratic rulers in Pakistan, those parties and their leaders who keep singing the tune of democracy in the country, have always avoided elections to local bodies and the establishment of local governments, without which democracy cannot be imagined in any country in the world. To restore public confidence in democracy, it is essential that local bodies and the local government system be given constitutional protection in the same way as elections to the national and provincial assemblies and to the federal and provincial governments. The schedule of local bodies should be included in the constitution, which should list its powers and ensure that elections are held within 90 days. Holding elections on the principle of proportional representation can make Pakistan’s democracy more representative, quality and participatory because in this system, each party gets seats in proportion to the public votes, which also allows the voices of small political parties and different classes to be included in the parliament. In Pakistan’s democratic system, members of the Senate and special seats for women are elected on the principle of proportional representation. The question is why the rest of the members of the national and provincial assemblies cannot be elected on the principle of proportional representation. The only reason for this is that capitalist and feudal electables can be given representation in the assemblies so that their monopoly on the state continues. To save democracy from complete collapse, it is necessary to ensure the implementation of the principles of transparency, justice, accountability, public service, and the rule of law in merit. |