Daily Times

That Pakistan is at a crossroads has been the mantra for the last seventy-five years. This crisis-ridden history is, undoubtedly, a sequel to treachery and betrayal of the objectives of the creation of a separate homeland; flouting and undermining the vision of the founder of Pakistan; pummeling the constitution and governing through extra-constitutional steps; politicians subverting the continuation of democratically elected governments by urging military take-over to settle scores with their opponents; military dictators derailing the democratic process and destroying the institutions of the state to assuage their lust for power; establishment orchestrating make and break of the governments; feudal lords and elites of the civil and military bureaucracy making common cause against the masses; indiscretions committed by pliable judges of the judiciary and the creation of Frankensteins like Altaf Hussain and Imran Khan by the establishment who have shaken the foundations of the state through their destructive machinations.

Regrettably, there seems no end in sight to this vicious circle of unending crises because nobody is bothered to acknowledge the real problem and take remedial measures to set the direction for fulfilling the vision bequeathed by the founding fathers. All the above-identified maladies afflicting our polity are off-shoots of the colonial system of governance which has in-built avenues of corruption and has been responsible for promoting a culture of graft and entitlement and perpetuation of the hold of elitist classes on the political power to the exclusion of other segments of the society.

There seems no end in sight to this vicious circle of unending crises because nobody is bothered to acknowledge the real problem.

The major stumbling block in changing the permeating exploitative political culture is the single-constituency system under which we elect our representatives. This system at the outset obviates the possibility of people from the middle and lower classes to contest the elections due to the costs involved.

There are no two opinions about the fact that the feudal and elitist character of our political system is the root cause of all the ills that this country is afflicted with and requires to be replaced by a system that is truly democratic and responsive to the needs of society. It is interesting to note that most of the seats of the National Assembly are in rural and tribal areas. Consequently, the traditional political families and their allies completely dominate these electoral entities. Their assured position of being electable from these constituencies in a system based on a single constituency puts them in an unassailable position and every political party has perforce to rely on them to win the required numbers to form the government. They have a well-entrenched vested interest in the continuation of the present system and therefore they use their clout to blackmail the governments and prevent any change inimical to their interests. The curse of permeating corruption, floor crossing and horse trading are hallmarks of politics premised on a single constituency system. The majority of these politicians are illiterate or semi-literate and never participate in the deliberations of the parliament. The record reveals that more than half of them have never uttered a single word in the Assembly. Politics for them is an industry and they invest to multiply their fortunes through the corruption and power that comes with being a member of the legislature. In a culture mired in corruption, these members also have reproachable credentials and integrity as has been revealed in several scams that have come to light from time to time. How can one expect such people to act honestly and axe their own feet by bringing changes in the system?

The riddance from this perennial crisis lies in breaking the hold of the feudal lords and elite classes on the political power in this country by adopting the system of proportional representation for electing our parliamentarians. Under this system, people vote for the parties rather than the individual candidates in a single constituency and the parties get representation in the parliament based on the percentage of votes that they poll.

The advantage of this system is that it reflects the real support for the political parties among the masses and also ensures the presence of smaller and regional parties in the parliament making the legislature a truly representative body. The party leaders are spared of the blackmail of the electables and they can nominate competent and educated people from different walks of national life to represent the party in the parliament. The system also eliminates the possibility of horse-trading and floor-crossing for personal gains. It also neutralizes the powers inimical to democracy to have any role in the make and break of the governments. To make this system workable voting will also have to be made compulsory so that every registered voter can exercise his right of franchise.

The possibilities of unnecessary wrangling between the political parties on matters like the date of elections and the formation of caretaker set-up must also be resolved permanently. Like in the US, the parties must agree on one date on which the election will be held every five years and the matter should no longer be the prerogative of the sitting government to decide. Similarly, the formation of the caretaker set-up should also be decided once and for all so that the parties can focus more on their programmes rather than wasting their energies on non-substantive issues. The judiciary is the most respectable and trusted institution of the country and it would be advisable for the parties to agree on the point that the latest retired and living judge of the Supreme would head the caretaker set up and he would be free to choose his team to hold free and fair elections and also run the affairs of the government till the new elected government assumes charge.

As regards the elimination of corruption in the bureaucracy and at higher echelons of the government, the discretionary powers at all levels should be abolished. That will help to a great extent in tackling the menace of corruption. All these changes should be effected through amendments in the constitution as it would be in the interest of all the parties themselves as well as in the larger interest of the country. Maybe it is not possible to carry out these amendments in a short period before the elections as it would require an exhaustive process of deliberations, therefore, the parties can take up these issues after the elections and have the changes effected within six months and then go to the polls again under the reformed system. They must understand that the masses are fed up with their machinations and are no longer prepared to take it lying down. The transition of political power from the elitist classes to the real owners of the country has now become inevitable. The sooner it is done, the better.

The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.