Transition without an interim government
We have an opportunity to show ourselves as mature democratic nation, capable of institutionalising peaceful handover.
Someone asked me yesterday what I thought about the results of the US elections. I answered in high spirits, “I am so excited!” Suddenly, realising that he was a staunch Republican, I changed my sentence in midstream, “... excited that no one got killed!” He looked patronisingly at this naive Pakistani and laughed, “Oh, people do not die over elections in this country, Dr Saeed.”
I observed a smooth transfer of power. There is no interim government since the system is designed to accomplish a step-by-step changeover. President Barack Obama, along with 435 Representatives of the House and 33 Senators have been elected, but will not take oath until January 2013. So, what happens before then? This transition period is called the lame duck session.
This time is also used to provide a comprehensive orientation for the newcomers (and to create a whole new administration if so needed). The re-elected ones know their way around. The 79 new Congressmen get an explanation on rules and regulations, information about available committee posts and, most importantly, ‘ethics’. Here, they learn exactly what expenses from their personal budget allocations they can charge to the taxpayers’ funds and what must be paid from their personal resources.
In summary, every Representative and Senator gets a salary, an office space, a handsome stipend to finance staff for two offices, one in the Congress building in Washington DC and one or more in their constituency. The staff do not have to be career civil servants, so the members simply hire people they trust, or recruit on the basis of merit. A typical team includes a senior chief of staff, legal director with a team of legal assistants, experts on foreign relations, communication director and logistical help. These people continually brief the member on issues coming up on the Congressional agenda, prepare policy briefs, keep them informed on committee affairs and prepare draft legislation.
Most of our MNAs and Senators have hardly any support system to help them understand the issues of the day or participate in a substantive legislative process. Only parliamentarians with a high position get assistance and that, too, only logistical. The generic support provided by career bureaucrats is too limited. Those who advance in the parliamentary service depend primarily on their years of experience. Perhaps, it is time to rethink the way professional support is provided to our parliamentarians.
In Pakistan, there is a serious criticism of parliamentarians and their expenses. What needs to be understood is that a few parliamentarians in senior positions might exploit the system but that should not be confused with the need for investments to make our institutions operate professionally. Yes, paying for professional staff would be expensive, but how expensive is it to have many parliamentarians who don’t understand critical issues or how to shepherd legislation that can address them?
An MNA in Pakistan gets minimal support to learn his job. Leaders of his party can guide him, but professional legal experts, researchers, policy people who can help him understand and make briefs for him in a language he understands are necessary. Many bring a nephew or a cousin to look after their schedule and help them with English, but only a few are able to make substantive comments on important bills, such as those for the budget.
As citizens, it is our responsibility to push for professionalism in our governance institutions. We have to make sure that in our criticism of politicians, we don’t overlook the real need for institutionalising good practices in legislation and oversight. Even though we will again resort to the use of an unelected interim government to handle the affairs of the state, leading up to our next election, all Pakistani citizens are looking forward to our first smooth transfer of power from one elected government to another. This is an opportunity to show ourselves as a maturing democratic nation, capable of institutionalising a process of peaceful handover without riots, cheating or deaths.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2012.
I observed a smooth transfer of power. There is no interim government since the system is designed to accomplish a step-by-step changeover. President Barack Obama, along with 435 Representatives of the House and 33 Senators have been elected, but will not take oath until January 2013. So, what happens before then? This transition period is called the lame duck session.
This time is also used to provide a comprehensive orientation for the newcomers (and to create a whole new administration if so needed). The re-elected ones know their way around. The 79 new Congressmen get an explanation on rules and regulations, information about available committee posts and, most importantly, ‘ethics’. Here, they learn exactly what expenses from their personal budget allocations they can charge to the taxpayers’ funds and what must be paid from their personal resources.
In summary, every Representative and Senator gets a salary, an office space, a handsome stipend to finance staff for two offices, one in the Congress building in Washington DC and one or more in their constituency. The staff do not have to be career civil servants, so the members simply hire people they trust, or recruit on the basis of merit. A typical team includes a senior chief of staff, legal director with a team of legal assistants, experts on foreign relations, communication director and logistical help. These people continually brief the member on issues coming up on the Congressional agenda, prepare policy briefs, keep them informed on committee affairs and prepare draft legislation.
Most of our MNAs and Senators have hardly any support system to help them understand the issues of the day or participate in a substantive legislative process. Only parliamentarians with a high position get assistance and that, too, only logistical. The generic support provided by career bureaucrats is too limited. Those who advance in the parliamentary service depend primarily on their years of experience. Perhaps, it is time to rethink the way professional support is provided to our parliamentarians.
In Pakistan, there is a serious criticism of parliamentarians and their expenses. What needs to be understood is that a few parliamentarians in senior positions might exploit the system but that should not be confused with the need for investments to make our institutions operate professionally. Yes, paying for professional staff would be expensive, but how expensive is it to have many parliamentarians who don’t understand critical issues or how to shepherd legislation that can address them?
An MNA in Pakistan gets minimal support to learn his job. Leaders of his party can guide him, but professional legal experts, researchers, policy people who can help him understand and make briefs for him in a language he understands are necessary. Many bring a nephew or a cousin to look after their schedule and help them with English, but only a few are able to make substantive comments on important bills, such as those for the budget.
As citizens, it is our responsibility to push for professionalism in our governance institutions. We have to make sure that in our criticism of politicians, we don’t overlook the real need for institutionalising good practices in legislation and oversight. Even though we will again resort to the use of an unelected interim government to handle the affairs of the state, leading up to our next election, all Pakistani citizens are looking forward to our first smooth transfer of power from one elected government to another. This is an opportunity to show ourselves as a maturing democratic nation, capable of institutionalising a process of peaceful handover without riots, cheating or deaths.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2012.