This week, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) registered 15 new parties; five of them calling themselves the Pakistan Muslim League, with various suffixes of some kind attached to their names. It is becoming impossible to keep track of the number of Muslim Leagues we have now. What is frightening is that while each of the 182 parties in the country has a manifesto — at least on paper — few do anything to follow what these documents say beyond submitting them to the ECP. The Political Parties Order of 2002 makes it quite easy to register a party and this is partly why we have a growing list of such bodies in our country.
It is also a fact that there is a marginal difference between the ideologies stated by these parties. Most spout the same rhetoric over and over again; almost none do anything to even put this into effect. Many of them exist simply to accommodate egos or as a kind of hobby for individuals who have little else to do. Some use their groups as bargaining chips ‘selling’ symbols to other parties which seek them. The All Pakistan Muslim League of former president Pervez Musharraf is, for instance, currently seeking the ‘eagle’ already allotted to another party as its symbol.
What is most disturbing is the fact that the rules laid down for the existence and functionality of these parties are simply not followed. For instance, almost none of them conduct intra-party elections despite the clear-cut requirements that they ought to do so. Documents which indicate that such practices occur are simply falsified. Only a handful of parties have any kind of representation in any assembly. Thus, this phenomenon is an indication of the distorted state of our politics and we must work to correct it.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2012.
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Divide and rule. Flaw of the system.
Just so that you are aware, PTI is planning to do internal party elections around end of May (after end of a massive 2-month membership campaign). Secondly, as the competition between bigger parties grows and democracy matures, we will most likely see a round of consolidation. However, I agree that in the short-term, this is not good since it reflects lack of willingness on the part of political elite to get along with others, each building his / her own castle and somehow believing they are different than others while relying on similar political tactics. We need quality rather than quantity.
The amount of parties thing has entered my head before as a negative thing though I suppose I either never trailed into it during a ramble or saw anything that made it relevant and reminded me until now. The amount is a bad thing and it plays into many of Pakistan's problems. The "Politics of dirty tricks" editorial right next to this one hits on the reason indirectly. Quoting the part I have in mind... "Unfortunately, the masses that vote have been brainwashed over the years to see the opposition party as a traitor not deserving to live and, therefore, liable under the charge of treason." That is very much the truth. But you have 182 parties acting in similar fashion to the other 181. Though I feel the need to point out ahead of time I'm aware many of those groups have a name on paper and probably don't do much of anything. Even adjusting the number for that, the issue still applies as it's negative even having 5 parties doing it. What's worse is that it's not static. It turns into a runaway hate train. It never fades, they only stack more and more on top of it.
People are excercising their right to associate, and the problem is?!
We vote Sindhi Progressive Nationalist Alliance (SPNA). People of Sindh are sick of the polices of PPP and MQM. The name of change in Sindh is SPNA.