International Day of Democracy

Pakistan is sixth most populous country in the world, created on the basis of popular will of people in 1947 with the vision to have a liberal, moderate and democratic parliamentary federation. Soon after independence, Pakistan adopted British legacy constitutional framework and introduced the parliamentary democracy, following much from the Government of India Act 1935 – the last constitution of British India.However, Pakistan being a postcolonial state, the democratic experience was underpinned by the steel frame of bureaucracy and political stability and institutionalized democratic set up remained a distant dream. The country has a checkered history with a few interludes of democratic rule during the sixty eight years of its existence.

The first Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan was adopted in 1956 which was abrogated just two years later by the martial law. During the first eleven years, eight successively governments were formed and sooner collapsed. Unfortunately, the inconsistent democratic history continued till 2008, alternating between elected governments and long spells of military dictators since its inception.

Pakistan has travelled a long distance towards its march on the path of democracy. The parliamentary democracy collapsed four times primarily due to mismanagement, disproportionate development of institutional matrix and the mounting political ambitions of the military generals. The military dictators have always sabotaged political development and mainstream political parties; and have advocated religious, ethnic and tribal politics to legitimize their regimes by rigged referendum. Over the years, the support to religious and ethnic groups has led to underground nurseries for breeding of extremism and terrorism. During military regime there was considerable economic development and prosperity, however, Pakistan democratic institutions were crushed and country had to endure two wars with India. On the other hand elected politicians have not much contributed towards democracy rather have been involved in incessant cycle of corruption, dynastic politics, nepotism and money laundering during the short duration they were at the helm of affairs. The fruit of democracy – good governance – albeit remained a dream.

With the outcome of general elections 2013, it was for the first time that a politically elected government successfully completed its tenure was replaced by another democratically elected government. However, the credibility and acceptability of these elections remained questionable by some parties in the opposition, till an “Inquiry Commission” comprising Supreme Court Judges which declared the 2013 elections were in large part organized and conducted justly and fairly in accordance with the law and reflection of the true mandate given by the electorate. Even now, the people of Pakistan have to undergo a long way in quest for the thirst of true democracy, leading to ultimate goal of good governance.

Technology aided elections is the latest fever that grips those concerned in any way with the elections in Pakistan. To them it is a ‘silver bullet’ that will deliver free, fair and transparent elections. Apparently they are well on their way to reinventing the wheel. Recently ECP, on the recommendation of Parliamentary Electoral Reforms Committee, has piloted Biometric voter verification system (BVVS) in a by-election in Haripur. The assumption on the part of pro technology segments is that an overwhelming majority of the electorate during the 2018 elections will be a smart phone using one; hence will be more at home using technology to cast their vote. Media with an inch-deep interest in issues seldom does research and paddles the pro tech approach to elections.

In my view e-day technology alone cannot ensure transparency in an electoral process. It is rather susceptible to rigging including fraud malpractices and systematic manipulation; it is an aid rather than a replacement to human adjudication. There are several examples from western world like California, Quebec, Italy and Germany that has forego electronic voting machines (EVM) due to lack of transparency. Regarding BVVS Ghana and Venezuela are two good examples of what to do, and what not to do. Former faced failure while the latter met with massive success. There were many reasons behind the success like series of pilot projects, several tests, stakeholders’ consultation and acceptance, voter education, training of election management bodies, cost benefit analysis, contingency plans, risks mitigation strategy and last but not the least, that is of immense importance, is citizenry’s confidence on its electoral commission and electoral systems. Although election technologies makes systems fast, ballot counting accurate; curtail the possibility of multiple voting and voter impersonation on e-day, it would limit the ability of polling officials to facilitate multiple voting and voter impersonation. It is difficult, “though not impossible”, to tamper with the machines. Machines are opaque devices that cannot be fully observed; in contrast a manual system i.e. a balloting system instead of an EVM is more transparent and observable on e-day by anyone.

Point to a fact that the use of e-day technologies is a high cost, high risk undertaking whose benefits sometime fail to match the high expectations thus ending up in resolving numerous post-election complaints by election tribunals like happened in Netherlands where in 2008 EVM, having being tampered, were banned. It was the result of a group of activists and civil society (CS) who successfully demonstrated that the EVMs being used at that time could be easily tampered with.

In Pakistan’s context the CS should way out all options before advocating implementation of e-day technology. Pakistan is not the first country to implement election technology. Most of the western world has reverted to paper based traditional systems after experiencing huge failure with e-day technology (black boxes) having incurred huge losses with money and credibility.

NGOs can also play a substantial role in raising awareness about different countries’ experiences with the e-day technologies. Another way is to include global practices in elections in the curriculum and higher learning institutions can commission researches around the future election technologies.

Additionally those suggesting the use of e-day technologies must also take in to account the cost factor including not only the first time cost but cost incurred on maintenance, storage, software update, configuration, security etc; the state money which should instead be spent on the basic needs like health and education.

While there is a pressure by the opposition parties to adopt financially and otherwise unfeasible e-day technologies, the ECP can only resist such pressures if the CS makes informed decisions and supports the commission.

The advantages and disadvantages of using e-day technologies vary from country to country, as the challenges and issues faced by the existing system in elections. Therefore, there is no one answer on the appropriateness of using e-day technologies. In broad terms, the more complex technology is employed the more risk is inherent.

Think twice and look around!

Democracy is a system in which all the people or members of a society, community, country, state and nation have equal right to vote and power. Democracy is actually a wakeup call for the sleeping nations to alter their political fate. Every nation and state has its own ideology of democracy. It is a misunderstanding of politics that systems of government are like pieces of machinery which can be imported from other countries and would work as efficiently as they worked in the country of their origin; or a system of government can be successfully transplanted from one country to another. Every society has its own traditions of behaviors. Political and democratic systems usually arise from the traditions of behaviors.
Broadly speaking it is a system which starts at the grass roots and after building a strong base, goes on to construct the structure above.
The concept of democracy is based on the theory of sovereignty of the people. The effective realization of this principle is possible only if the people have the right to express their views and judgment. The system of democracy creates the political consciousness among the people by giving political education to them through referendum and initiatives. It promotes patriotism and infuses the sense of responsibility and dutifulness in the people as they are closely associated with the law making process. People of a democratic country automatically become more respectful to the laws, which are made by them.
Indeed the basic system on which the Pakistan is established in 1947 was democracy conceptualized by Quied-e-millat, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. However after that democracy in Pakistan was imperfect and was never been allowed to function, because of political cold war’s and political instabilities termed as democracy killers in all times of Pakistan’s political era.
Until 2013, Pakistan did not experience even one democratic transfer of power from one democratically elected government that had completed its tenure to another. Because previous democracies have been interrupted by military actions. But now the people of Pakistan realize the real power of a democratic state. They become aware of their responsibilities and rights to vote. This the turning point for the Pakistani democracy uplift and also for the rise of the Pakistani nation.
Wishing all of you Happy “INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DEMOCRACY”. Always vote with the open eyes its not a ballet paper…its our future.
FAWAD AHMAD KHAN HOTI

Democracy and participatory governance are popular political nations in today’s world. Fair and free elections are the key pre-requisite of democracy. However, democracy lacks substance unless the electoral process is coupled with the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law, and civil and political rights and freedoms for the people. The state must practice the principle of equal citizenship irrespective of religion, caste, ethnicity and regional background. It must also ensure equality of opportunity to all for advancement in social, economic and political domains and guarantee security of life and property of its citizens.

Democracy in Pakistan faced a host of difficulties which did not let the democratic principles, institutions and processes develop firm roots in the polity. Pakistan started with the parliamentary system of governance but the legacy of institutional imbalance and authoritarianism, problems encountered in the setting up of the new state, the external security pressures and the fear of the collapse of the state adversely affected the prospects of democracy. Other factors that caused the problems for democracy included the crisis of leadership in the aftermath of the demise of Jinnah, failure of the Muslim League to transform itself from a nationalist movement to a national party, fragmentation and degeneration of the political forces and the rise of the bureaucratic-military elite. Long before the first military take over in October 1958 the dominant elite were talking about the unsuitability of liberal democracy for Pakistan. Intermittent constitutional and political breakdown, the ascendancy of the military to power and the efforts of the top brass of the military to introduce a political system that protected their professional and corporate interests made it difficult to create participatory political institutions and processes that could command the voluntary support of the diversified political interests. The military elite employed the democratic principles in a selective manner and their policy of co-option of a section of the political leaders and exclusion of others accentuated polarization and jeopardized the prospects of political accommodation and consensus-building.

The experience suggests that democratic institutions and processes stabilize and mature if their natural evolution is not obstructed by partisan considerations. These must function in their true spirit over time, offering all citizens and groups an equal and fair opportunity to enter the political mainstream and compete for power and influence. This helps to build support for the political institutions and facilitates their sustainability. In Pakistan, periodic breakdown of the political order and repeated military take-over or attempts by the top brass to shape the political process to their political preferences did not ensure political continuity and the competing interest did not get equal opportunity to freely enter the political mainstream.

Democracy and the autonomy of civilian institutions and processes has been the major casualty of the expanded role of the military. Whenever Pakistan returned to civilian and constitutional rule, the quality of democracy remained poor. It is a case of democracy deficit. The long term endurance of the political institutions and the prospects of democracy faces four major challenges in Pakistan: the non-expansion of participatory opportunities for those viewed as adversaries by the military dominated regime, the poor performance of the elected assemblies, failure to build consensus on the operational norms of the political system, and a drift towards confrontation, religious and cultural intolerance and extremism.

This does not mean that the people have given up on the primacy of the popular will, participatory governance, accountability of the rulers and governance for serving the people. The ideological commitment to these principles persists which will continue to question the legitimacy of non participatory and authoritarian governance and political management.

Democracy is the most essential and fundamental element for managing the affairs of society systematically. Democracy and participatory governance are popular political patterns in the modern world. In a broader sense democracy encompasses the leading features; fair and free election process, supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law, and freedom for the people. In other words democratic state must practice the principles of equal citizenship irrespective of religion, caste, ethnicity and regional background. It must also ensure equality of opportunity to all for advancement in social, political and economic domains and guarantee security of life and property to its citizens.

well democracy is right public have to choose their system government by themself, to change their life, no one force to choose your heart and i thing its our freedom free right to voting to elect representatives to a parliament and democracy is also word of a chance for the the voters have to choose their one and they will change your life, its a very expensive change for every human being to take part and give their valuable contribution by voting ,,

It is fact that democracy is the major constituent for social, political and economic development.

It is not that Swiss and Swedes are inherently blessed with greater honesty and integrity than Pakistanis. But actually difference lies in the institutions, laws and work procedures.

well why we all alway choose government in democracy defination because its is by government but we didn’t thought also for the government people actually

and actually democracy is flop in pakistan because of specific reason,, but if we go for over all view then let start from the beggining

democracy in pakistan
it came in to being in 1947 in pakistan government found by quaid-e pakistan
Pakistan and India was the largest ancient human civilisations in many countries because of their culture and development istorians and social scientists observed indus valley, has great system of standard architecture, civic controls, consistent grid layouts and uniformed sanitary facilities.historian suggest indus valley to Pakistan as possibly the earliest cradle and model of democracy; one which was based on a “rule by the people..

and actually and unfortunetly democracy is flop in pakistan weak political system in pakistan right after pakistan independence day and that was not stooping but infact its was just going so fast and corruption was on its peak that because the result came out of enforcement of martial law across the country (occurring in 1958, 1977 and 1999, and led by chief martial law administrator-generals Ayub Khan, Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf
till 2013
Pakistan did not experience even one democratic transfer of power from one democratically elected government that had completed its tenure to another.
and if we came on topic of international day of democracy then

United Nations General Assembly resolved to observe 15 September as the International Day of Democracy—with the purpose of promoting and upholding the principles of democracy—and invited all member states and organizations to commemorate the day in an appropriate manner that contributes to raising public awareness
The word democracy comes from two Greek words: demos, which means “the people”, and kratein, which means “to rule”.

The ultimate goal of democracy is to preserve and promote the dignity and fundamental rights of the individual, achieve social cohesion and justice, foster economic and social development to ensure social stability and well-being. democracy of pakistan and international day of democracy is came into being by UN
SO I WISH ALL OF YOU HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DEMOCRACY IN ADVANCE

Democracy was once considered a phenomenon that meant that, it was a government that was organized for the people, by the people and of the people. Today, Pakistan remains a paradox in the world. Democracy alone has been one of the biggest factor that plunged back Pakistan from the heights of justice, national growth and better economy for the poor class. The providence of democracy in Pakistan has only been injustice, questions on national solidarity and the show of power of the elite. Alas! How wrongly do we strive to build and maintain this nation?
There was a time when Pakistan was considered a respectable country. Today, our politicians are famous for getting loans and literally asking for money from other nations. The value of Pakistan’s green passport is standing in a line that is manifested with hate and remorse. The countries that follow Islam as obediently as the Pakistanis do consider us as animals that would bark and bite all the time. Why is that a few politicians who have no respect of their blood, their family, their nation get to shape the image of Pakistan.
The answer is democracy, in Pakistan this democracy is made up by the most vicious people, for the ignorant people and of the inhuman people. Since the past six decades, crime grew, justice reduced, the elite got rich and the poor commit suicide. Can people not see that it is this democracy, which has brought the people of this nation to their knees on the commands of a few bullies? These bullies are made by the people of Pakistan, under influence or ignorance remains a mystery. This nation was built on the basis of Islamic Law, after more than 60 years we don’t even have democracy let alone the blessed law of our Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

Democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives.
While democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy.

Activities carried out by the United Nations in support of efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate democracy are undertaken in accordance with the UN Charter, and only at the specific request of the Member States concerned.

The UN General Assembly, in resolution A/62/7 (2007) encouraged Governments to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy, and also decided that 15 September of each year should be observed as the International Day of Democracy.

Globally, the role of civil society has never been more important than this year, as the world prepares to implement a new development agenda, agreed to by all the world’s Governments. However, for civil society activists and organizations in a range of countries covering every continent, space is shrinking — or even closing — as some Governments have adopted restrictions that limit the ability of NGOs to work or to receive funding.

That is why the theme of this year’s International Day of Democracy is “Space for Civil Society.” It is a reminder to Governments everywhere that the hallmark of successful and stable democracies is the presence of a strong and freely operating civil society — in which Government and civil society work together for common goals for a better future, and at the same time, civil society helps keep Government accountable.