Keep it dirty

The stillborn child of political reform was quietly kicked into the long grass, there to quickly fade from memory


Editorial February 28, 2015
What the APC revealed in the harshest of lights is that the very last thing the collected political forces of the country want is transparency and any change to the way they do their dirty business PHOTO: PID

For a brief moment it seemed that Pakistan politics was about to wash its face, but when faced with the prospect of cleaning up their act the invertebrates on the bottom of the pond took fright. The hastily convened All Parties Conference (APC) was to consider the 22nd Constitutional Amendment that would have changed the way members were elected to the Senate; from a secret ballot to an open show of hands which would probably have eliminated the practice of political horse-trading. The idea originated with Imran Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a party notable for its absence from parliament for the last eight months. On the face of it, there was much to commend the idea. Vote-buying and horse-trading have made something of a mockery of democratic processes and ideals for decades, and the assertion that ‘everybody’ wanted to get rid of these practices was assumed to be correct. It was not.

What the APC revealed in the harshest of lights is that the very last thing the collected political forces of the country want is transparency and any change to the way they do their dirty business. They would rather trade horses, do backdoor deals, cross the floor and feel free to hand wads of cash right and left in exchange for votes and political favours, thank you very much.

Rather than grasp the nettle of honesty, the APC instead proposed a seat adjustment mechanism that is a large slice of fudge and an even larger slice of self-interest. All the major political parties, including the JUI-F and the PPP, opposed the government proposal to introduce the 22nd Amendment.

The call was for parties to “control their lawmakers in federal and provincial assemblies” — a call as likely to be heeded as turkeys ever voting for Christmas. The upshot is that there will likely be no constitutional amendment before the Senate vote on March 5, and the ‘business as usual’ sign went up in the political shop-window. The stillborn child of political reform was quietly kicked into the long grass, there to quickly fade from memory.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2015.

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COMMENTS (1)

Anon | 9 years ago | Reply How are they gonna hear each other...are they speaking through mic..
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