Undemocratic parties

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned from his office on Monday because "internal battles" in his party meant he "cannot be the best option" in elections later this year. A politician willingly stepping down in the interest of party and country caught our eyes because none of us are familiar with the concept. Here, illness and death are the only things that can lead to real changes at top level. Even in these cases, the heir to the throne is almost always a blood relative.

The fact is that all of the major parties in Pakistan are effectively personality cults. It is why 'Bhutto is still alive' holds any importance as a slogan. It is why, except for short, legally necessary patches, the PML-N has never been led by someone outside the Sharif clan, and ANP has never had a chief unrelated to Bacha Khan, and why every other notable political party - with the exception of Jamaat-e-Islami - is led by a close relative of its first chairman. And the PTI is no different. It doesn't matter who the current chairman is; all decision-making must be approved in Adiala Jail by a person who cannot legally hold a leadership position in a political party - just as Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto called the shots in their parties from abroad, even when legal 'obstacles' prevented them from officially running things.

When parties need to elect office bearers, the results are a forgone conclusion. While most parties - again, except JI - have historically gamed the system by holding sham elections, the PTI once tried to hold fair elections, but the disappointing results reportedly led them to begin skipping a step and just appointing Imran Khan's picks. But they also 'learned' and did the bare minimum by holding their own sham elections. The same politicians that demand we uphold democracy, 'respect the vote' and 'honour the people's mandate', have no interest in allowing their own parties' members the right to choose their leaders, or, as we have also seen, even express an iota of dissent.