The senate chairman and deputy chairman elections have once again proved that even a majority party cannot take the driving seat if the establishment does not want it to. The elections also proved that eligibility and merit is not a criteria even the least qualified person could be pitched, promoted and positioned for the highest slot in the country’s legislature. Another fact is that the elections endorsed is that lust for money is the prime driver for certain political figures who are unfortunately known to the general public for their integrity and faithfulness. Last but not least, rather most importantly, it has been proven again that strong political parties are not required. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, they turn hegemonic and monarchic as they become stronger. Secondly, stronger political parties lead to a consistent and stable democratic system which could become threat for the establishment’s unilateral decisions. The ‘solution’ is to take all steps required to dismantle the structure and system of the political parties that are getting stronger. The most effective way is to cement all weaker political elements against the stronger, despite their huge political differences and ideologies. We have seen this in the past, and we saw it again this past week, and we will see it in the future too if we are unable to put our vested interests aside. It had happened with the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), and now the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) is going through the same. To keep the voice of citizens weak, it is essential to stop the grooming of political elements contributing to a stronger democratic system. For this, every stronger political element has to be dismantled. That degrading the writ of the people leads to anarchy and chaos is a fact that remains forgotten. Three years back we saw the same horse-trading and political manoeuvring in the Senate’s elections and for its two top slots. The situation was exacerbated this time just to keep the majority holding party out of power. This historic playoff on Monday created circumstances in the upper house reflecting the decline in the political vision and statesmanship of our elected representatives, and their deteriorating ethical and democratic values. It is time to change the secret balloting system for the elections of the senate and for its chairman and deputy chairman and the speaker and deputy speakers in the National Assembly to a visible voting system to avoid horse-trading and any manoeuvring. Nevertheless, seventy years after the founding of Pakistan, the chairman senate has been elected from Balochistan — who is also the youngest chairman ever. Sadiq Sanjrani, a lesser known and independent senator from Balochistan who had the backing of an undeclared alliance between the PPP and the PTI, securing 57 votes, defeating the PML-N-backed candidate Raja Zafarul Haq who could bag only 46 votes in the election for the office of Senate chairman. The post of deputy chairman of the upper house of parliament was won by Saleem Mandviwalla of the PPP who received 54 votes — beating his opponent Usman Kakar of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, a PML-N ally, who secured only 44 votes. To keep the voice of citizens weak, it is essential to stop the grooming of political elements contributing to a stronger democratic system. For this, every stronger political element has to be dismantled. That degrading the writ of the people leads to anarchy and chaos is a fact that remains forgotten Making the mediocre senators reach to the top slots of the senate of Pakistan serves no objective purpose. It may be too early to say that the upper house of the parliament will be run more inefficiently. Choosing former chairman senate Senator Mian Raza Rabbani out of the race would hamper the significant role of the upper house in the future discourse of the national agenda. Giving a chance to a lesser known, inexperienced senator from a minority province seems to be a good omen but at the cost of most eligible ones, and by undermining the right of the province having 62 percent of the total population. Such practices will only lead to unwarranted circumstances. Can depriving someone of their rights be justified to oblige the other one? Certainly not, but this they say, is the nature of politics. The largest party in the upper house lost the Senate chairman seat in a competition against the unholy alliances. That’s fine. What the second largest party, PPP, lost is more than the PML-N. PPP lost the easily available Senate chairman seat for a second consecutive term just because of the personal grudges PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had against Mian Raza Rabbani. This was indeed, unwise. However, PPP was much appreciated for the nomination of Krishna Kumari, the newly elected Senate member on a PPP ticket, who took oath on Monday wearing traditional Thari dress. Clad in the same attire, her parents also accompanied her to the Senate. Kumari is the first Hindu woman elected on the women’s reserved seat for minorities from Sindh. She belongs to a remote village in the Nagarparkar district of Thar in Sindh. She is from the family of the valiant freedom fighter Rooplo Kolhi, who had waged a war against the invading British colonialist forces when they had attacked Sindh from Nagarparkar in 1857. Subsequently, he was arrested and hanged by the British raj on August 22, 1858. Krishna Kumari had joined the PPP as a social activist along with her brother, who was later elected chairman of Union Council Berano. Kumari also actively participated and worked for the rights of downtrodden people of marginalised communities living in Thar and other areas. Her election represents a major milestone for women and minority rights in Pakistan. Earlier, PPP had elected the first Hindu woman named Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla as a senator. The writer is an Islamabad-based policy advocacy, strategic communication and outreach expert. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com. He tweets @EmmayeSyed Published in Daily Times, March 15th 2018.