Proportional Representation
As a measure of ushering in democracy in its original concept we have already discussed why it is necessary to (1) have a run-off election between the two candidates having the maximum votes in case any one candidate fails to get 50% of the votes cast (2) must return to the joint electorate system in preference to the present system of separate electorates and (3) have direct voting for every electable seat to avoid manipulation by a corrupt of few over the many. However, the major argument against all the three aforementioned measures is the fact that it will deprive smaller communities, religious groups, minorities like Christians, Hindus etc, from representation in the legislative assemblies. This “outcast” status will cause frustration among a fairly large segment of the population who will despair of ever having a voice in the mainstream of the country’s politics and may become extremist in their outlook, even looking to separate themselves (secede) from their present society. The world is witness to terrorism which has its roots in denial of (or the seeming denial of) fundamental rights to individuals and/or groups, which then resort to violent means to restore (and assert) what they feel is their God-given rights. As such while we must strive to remove the anomalies in our present version of democracy, we must also be careful in bringing in such measures that give every segment of our society their just due by giving them a voice roughly commensurate to their percentage of population in our legislative assemblies. A mechanism that is fair to all must be formed to overcome the present shortcomings in our democratic system.
It is useful to first clearly define those who are affected by our suggested measures of run-off vote, joint electorate and direct voting. Today, roughly half of the country’s population i.e. womenfolk, are not really represented as their own sex can seldom get voted in any direct exercise of adult franchise. If we do away with indirect elections for their quota of seats in NA and PA (as is the present case where the period has lapsed), this representation has come down even further. Similarly Christians and Hindus have a fair amount of population (about 1.5 million registered voters) and doing away with the separate electorate in favour of a joint electorate would deprive them their representation as very few of them could get elected directly in the joint electorate system. As such a mechanism must be devised that is logical and fair, to both the majority and the minorities while giving due representation to every segment of the population. At the same time some smaller political parties e.g. the religious parties, that have quite a percentage of the vote cannot get their representatives elected, in a Run-off election they are bound to fare even worse. This imbalance must be adjusted. The mechanism that must be devised should safeguard the rights of those with lesser voting base than the major political parties.
The logical way be accomplish this is to have Proportional Representation (PR). Dependant upon the percentage of votes that they get in an election, political parties must be given seats in the NA and PA but not at the cost of those already elected on the basis of adult franchise and the Run-off process. Let us take the NA and its 207 directly elected members as a base example that can be adopted for the PAs. One feels that 50% extra seats must be given on the basis of PR i.e. the NA gets another 104 seats to make it 311 seats of which 207 are directly elected, the balance filled on the ratio of percentage votes acquired by each political party. Taking the last election as an example where PML(N) and PPP ended up roughly with 40% of the votes (when including the tally of their respective allies), both the major political groupings would get about 40 plus seats. Because of PR, the smaller political groupings which may not have a seat in Parliament would also now be represented therein.
We must also endeavour to devise a method to draw in the women and minorities to benefit from PR, particularly the minorities who would have been deprived of their separate electorate system. Given that the minorities are about 3%, we must reserve at least 7-8 seats for them in the NA, as per their population. It must be made mandatory for parties that obtain more than 20% of the national vote to divide their PR seats on the basis 90% women and 10% minorities. Each political party will have to field slates of women candidates and minorities in order of priority. These candidates must have appeared in some election from the village/ Mohalla Council, i.e. they must have grassroots recognition.
So as to give a fair representation to those parties who got less than 20% of the national vote and do not have many seats, male or female, in the NA, it must be mandatory to have only 25% of their PR seats filled by women while it must remain their choice to fill the balance 75% as they deem fit. On the other hand religious political parties that rely heavily on women votes but do not allocate NA seats for them must be encouraged to give their women supporters some representation in Parliament. To give an example Jamaat-i-Islami gets traditionally about 3-4% of the vote, it would be mandatory on them to give at least one of their 4 seats on PR to women candidates. Similarly by not making it mandatory on the smaller parties to give PR seats to minorities, their representation will not be diluted. While the formula aforementioned may not be perfect, the fact remains that by this method, we bring in about 80 plus women into Parliament as MNAs, giving them a substantial voice in the nation’s legislative basis. At the same time we do not reduce the minorities representation but make them an integral part of the major political parties, which in turn gives them a solid backing as regards their aspirations in society.
Going by the results of the last elections, PML (N) 39.86%, PPP 37.86%, PML (J) 3.91%, PIF 3.22%, IJM 2.40%, ANP 1.67%, MDM 1.08%. Independents 7.40% while BNM (Hayee), JWP, NDA, NPP, PKMAP, PKQP all got number less than 1% each. By a rough reckoning PML(N) would get 40 seats of which 36 would be women and 4 from the minorities, PPP 38 seats (34 would be women and 4 from the minorities), PML(J) 4 seats (one woman), PIF 4 seats (one woman), IJM 3 seats (one woman), APP 2 seats (one woman) and MDM 1 seat. Since Minorities have 1.5 million registered voters (divided almost equally between Hindus and Christians, out of the total of 50 million registered voters) they are liable to get about 8 seats, 4 each to Hindus and Christians. The major parties PML (N) and PPP must nominate candidates for 4 seats each, at least two Hindus and two Christians among their respective quotas of 4 seats, thereby making their Party seats in PR to their full total of 40 and 38 respectively. In this manner, due to PR, the 104 seats are divided between the parties, with at least 80 seats going to women MNAs and 8 to minorities. If any of the parties want to nominate more women and minorities from their quota on PR, it should be left to their discretion.
The present power sharing formula in Pakistan is not only unfair but it tends to be divisive instead of promoting national integrity. To make democracy more effective, we must institute such changes that are logical, fair and pragmatic. This process can be called “the Unity Formula” as it will integrate all sections of population into the national mainstream by overcoming the frustrations of those who are left out of the nation’s Parliament. In summary, by a run-off vote we determine the actual mandate of the people, by direct vote for every elected office we avoid manipulation by a vested minority, by going back to the joint electorate system we amalgamate the whole population into a giant melting point and by Proportional Representation we give every section of the populace a voice in the national parliament. Pakistan’s survival depends upon bringing in institutional changes at the basic level in the process of democracy so that the gridlock that a powerful clique has on the body politic to the detriment of the nation’s integrity is broken. The will of the people must be supreme, it can only be accomplished by immediate reforms that overcome vested interest.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment