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Pakistan Must Reform Its
Political Parties
On August 4 President Zardari called PPP
stalwarts’ meeting at President House to provide an opportunity
to Bilawal Zardari to sharpen his speaking skills.
During his speech, Bilawal Zardari repeated
many 40 years old PPP slogans including “Tum Kitnay Bhutto Maro
Gay Har Ghar Say Bhutto Niklay Ga.” During his brief written
speech he tried to copy the styles of his mother Benazir Bhutto
and his grandfather Z. A. Bhutto.
Many minions of PPP present in the meeting
applauded him for showing the traits of Benazir Bhutto and Z. A.
Bhutto in his speech. President Zardari proudly gazed at his son
and looked relieved that he had the heir who will continue
controlling PPP.
We have recounted this scene, because it
raises many questions about the future of democracy, about
political structure and about the nature of future political
system of Pakistan. It also raises questions about the nature of
political philosophy that is seeping in our collective
consciousness through these young political birds who are
learning to fly.
“Kitnay Bhutto Maro Gay Har Ghar Say Bhutto
Niklay Ga.” Is it the political philosophy or political ideology
we want to maintain in Pakistan? Please give Pakistan a break.
Pakistan needs to move beyond this nonsense of “Kitnay Bhutto
Maro Gay Har Ghar Say Bhutto Niklay Ga.” This is a sick
political culture. Master Bilawal Zardari should save his blood
and head. Pakistan does not need anyone’s blood or head any
longer. This sick political logic must end.
Coming back to the other questions about the
future of democracy, about the nature of future political system
of Pakistan, we have to make sure we move beyond political
parties that run as family properties. We should get rid of
those toady politicians who perpetuate family controls on
political parties. They are the ugly creatures of Pakistani
politics. Pakistan must get rid of them as soon as possible.
Due to these ugly creatures of Pakistani
politics, right now, almost all political parties are being run
like family properties. Can there be a bigger tragedy in the
life of a nation that the leadership of its largest political
party is transferred through a will by deceased party
chairperson?
With this kind of political culture, is there
any hope that these parties will reform voluntarily? There is a
remote possibility that the leaders of political parties will
act on their own and turn their parties into true political
parties? Bilawal Zardari’s example is enough to predict the
hereditary nature of future of political parties.
If we know that party leaders are not going
to allow their parties to become true political parties, then we
need to think what steps we need to take to transform political
parties into true political parties?
We suggest the Election Commission of
Pakistan should chalk out a short and long term program to
democratize political parties.
For example, Election Commission should make
inner party elections a rudimentary condition for parties to
participate in election. Either Election Commission should
conduct these inner party elections by itself or appoint an
independent body to be responsible to conduct these elections
and issue certificate of free, fair, and transparent inner party
election before political parties are allowed to participate in
the national elections.
It is Parliament’s foremost responsibility to
make laws which discourage hereditary politics in the country.
No life long supreme leaders please. Such leaderships create
environment for hereditary political leadership. It is a menace,
if not controlled at this level when democracy is ready to take
off in the country it will darken the future of our next
generations and the country.
If parliament and Election Commission do not
move in this direction, in the larger interest of the country,
Supreme Court should define parameters for political parties
which make them democratic political party in the true sense of
the word.
If we want to make Pakistan a true democracy,
we should know it cannot become a true democracy without true
democratic parties. There can be no true democratic political
parties without true inner party democratic procedures and
practices.
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