Democracy has sailed through the ancient Greek city-states to the modern era where it started working formerly during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. Though it has not been the system of all the countries in the world, democracy is functioning in a number of countries across the globe (148 out of 193 UN registered countries are republics). Notwithstanding its popular nature, the working nature of democracy is quite different in various democratic states depending upon the local political and democratic culture.
Pakistan entered the international community almost seven decades ago and adopted the inherited democratic system which was then put on a bumpy road for the decades to come. The Pakistani version of democracy has come across four military coupd’état which occupy nearly thirty years. The remaining period of different democratic governments is not free from the flawed and problematic function of democracy. The politico-democratic culture of Pakistan has been facing a plethora of issues thereby unmasking the real-flawed face of the Pakistani version of democracy.
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The constitutionally determined institution and organ of government, the legislature is assigned with the responsibility to formulate laws for the nation. However, the legislative process needs the lawmakers—parliamentarians who are popularly elected. Apart from making laws, the legislature also exercises a check on the executive. In the parliamentary system, the lower house of the parliament is constitutionally mandated to bring a vote of no confidence against the leader of the house who is also the chief executive of the country in order to show that the sitting Prime Minister has lost confidence in the majority of the House. Though the above said are the de jure rights, both the electoral process and proving no- confidence with a simple majority of the Lower House are largely manipulated.
The problematic electoral process in Pakistan
The process of government formation usually starts with the elections either direct or indirect. However, the whole electoral process is of phenomenal importance in order to make its free and fair conduct sure. It is largely influenced by the feudal, elitist and industrialist phenomena where the elections expenditures are mostly taken up by the feudal, landlords, business tycoons, industrialists and elites which in turn influence the law-making process as per their desires. Such a phenomenon is usually referred to be as clients politics as highlighted by Maleeha Lodhi in her magnum opus, Pakistan: Beyond Crisis State.
This further gives birth to another malpractice in the electoral-cum-law-making process where the market forces manipulate the marketing under the political patronage as argued by Ishrat Hussain in his well-known write-up Pakistan: the Economy of an Elitist State. Such an expensive and commercialized electoral process influences the smooth, free and fair function of democracy in Pakistan. The issues of rigging and baradari culture in elections aggravate the problematic nature of electoral process thereby diluting the democratic process to shallowness.
Horse-trading
As has been mentioned above, the flawed electoral process provides for a problematic law-making process. Apart from making laws, the legislature performs some important checks on the executive. The Lower House in a parliamentary system provides for moving a motion of no-confidence against the leader of the House for a valid reason. The constitution of Pakistan provides for bringing a motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister under its Article 95.
Notwithstanding the constitutional nature of the vote of no-confidence, the process usually and unfortunately comes across as a gross violation of the constitution and democratic ideals as the members of the National Assembly who are distracted and defectors and agree to vote against the Prime Minister in return for being rewarded with much money( in crores) and assurances of being rewarded with tickets in the upcoming elections. This is really a sad and unfortunate moment for democracy in Pakistan where the disappointed and disgruntled members of the National Assembly rely on being bargained in lieu of standing by the constitutional and democratic process.
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The floor crossing has been declared ultra vires and unconstitutional under Article 63(A) (1) which says that crossing floor against the party’s directions will stand unconstitutional, though this defection clause seeks interpretation at the hands of the Supreme Court, the process violated the basic ideals of democracy and adverts and negates the will of the electorates. The opposition defends the violation of this very defection clause as it is made null and void only if the defection takes place. Whereas, the government seeks its interpretation as it seems meaningless to disqualify the dissidents soon afterward they vote against the party’s directions. It seems naive to yield to horse-trading as it maligns the democratic contours. This defection clause was inserted in the constitution under the fourteenth amendment to the constitution in 1997.
Crossing the floor for economic or political incentives comes under the broad term of horse trading where the violation against the party’s directions for being rewarded with much money or party’s tickets in the upcoming elections is not a new story rather finds its roots in the long-standing history. The manipulation of the vote of no-confidence has experienced malicious events like Changa Manga and Murree and this time Sindh House among others. The motion of no-confidence was moved in Pakistan for the first time against the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1989 followed by a vote of no-confidence against Shaukat Aziz in 2006. Both of these remained failed.
A handful of defectors and dissidents were taken to Changa Manga in 1989 and kept there to manipulate the vote of the no-confidence process against Benazir Bhutto which later on failed. The menace of horse-trading has a long history as has been brought into function in almost every government.
Similarly, the Senate elections are largely alleged for being carried out under the malicious horse-trading where the single vote of a member of Provincial Assembly is bought in crores. Likewise, the votes for the elections of the chairman of the Senate are also manipulated. This time the Sind House dilemma has exacerbated the situation which is a blot on the white texture of democracy.
The miscreants of horse-trading slide off being blamed for committing an unconstitutional work via saying that everyone is free to uphold his or her decision, but it must be mentioned here that it defects and violates the defection clause of Article 63(A) (1) of the constitution of Pakistan. Moreover, it is infringing the real nature of democratic process since the mandate of the electorates are belittled, defamed and deceived. Democracy stands for the rule of the people where the whole process of government is run in accordance with the will of the people. Placing bids on MNAs and MPAs is both morally and democratically invalid.
In a nutshell, the democratic process in Pakistan has largely been maligned by such menaces as horse-trading and clients politics and problematic electoral process. Taking members of the National Assembly to Changa Manga, Muree, Sindh House, or somewhere else or bidding them in return of money in crores or party’s tickets in the upcoming elections are bad omens for the prosperous future of democracy in Pakistan. The motion of no-confidence is moved with a valid reason and the current one has been moved with a reason put by the opposition that the incumbent government has performed poor in the field of economy which in return has affected the lives of the countrymen. If the reason is valid, then why the opposition has come upon the malicious horse-trading? is a serious question to be mulled over.
While coming up with a democratic right and adopting an unconstitutional measure to achieve the democratic right is putting the holiness of democratic future in doubt and this is the reason among others by virtue of which Abu Al Maudadi seems modern liberal Western democracy incompatible with the Islamic political system in his well-known write-up The political Theory of Islam. The democracy in Pakistan needs to be matured which in turn would engender sincere leadership which in turn would contribute to the improvement of a good governance crisis.
The writer has done his Post-graduation in English Literature and Linguistics from NUML Islamabad. He is a research scholar and can be reached at abdulsamadkhanbannu22@