Misconduct in the house

It was indeed a dreadful display of political one-upmanship by assembly members


Editorial May 21, 2018

There is a minimum standard of conduct expected of parliamentarians in any legislative house. However, we have seen members of provincial assemblies stoop to such a level that their constituents themselves are forced to question the wisdom of the democratic exercise that brought their representatives to the house in the first place. To those who witnessed the proceedings of the Sindh Assembly session on May 19th or heard and read about it the next day, it was indeed a dreadful display of political one-upmanship by assembly members who abandoned all norms of civil conduct.

We saw, for instance, provincial minister Mumtaz Jakhrani deliver a provocative speech and rail against the opposition parties for the umpteenth time. We also saw how a woman MPA, Nusrat Abbasi, respond to the diatribe with vitriolic attacks of her own. And if that was not enough Nusrat Abbasi placed her feet on the table in disgust – a gesture that earned her the wrath of Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza who ordered her out of the house. Allegations of political inertia are frequently heard in the house and judging by the performance of the last few governments in the province all parties accused thereof cannot satisfactorily defend themselves against it. Rabble rousing is just not permissible in the house.

To maintain proper decorum, it is worthwhile invoking and enforcing a code of conduct for parliamentarians in Sindh and elsewhere. The objective should not be to control the behaviour of parliamentarians but to set public standards by which parliamentary conduct can be assessed. There should also be an agreed foundation for responding to unacceptable behaviour. These steps can help assure and reassure the community and somewhat restore the trust placed in assembly members. As such a combination of factors are responsible for the ethical behaviour of parliamentarians. Among these are the ethical resources of each parliamentarian and the resolve of his or her party leader to enforce standards, as well as the sentiments of the electorate. Since all democratic systems depend on the probity of their leaders to promote trust in the system, misconduct does matter in a democracy. Sindh and other provinces need to reduce as much as possible the amount of actual and perceived misconduct.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2018.

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