PILDAT survey says Jamaat-e-Islami is the most democratic party
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which rules the Center as well as the largest province of the country, is the least democratic party in Pakistan, the second annual report of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) revealed on Monday.
PILDAT released a report about the internal democracy within the political parties of the country.
According to the report, the PML-N is followed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), as the second and third least democratic parties among the eight political parties evaluated for the report.
The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) was ranked the most internally democratic party of the country with 56 per cent points. JI was followed by the National Party with 47 per cent points.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) slipped to third position despite the fact its party elections were among the most popularly contested and elaborate party elections in the country’s history.
“PTI’s next election scheduled for 2016 will decide not only the party’s own democratic credentials, but the success or failure of this experiment may also decide future trends in the internal party elections of political parties in Pakistan,” the report said.
PTI, with 44 per cent points, took the third position. With 40 per cent points, Awami National Party (ANP) ended up at number four, whereas Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) secured fifth place with 36 per cent points. There was a tie between Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) for the sixth place as both parties secured 33 per cent points.
With 31 points to its name, the ruling PML-N finished last, making it the least democratic party according to the report.
“Regular elections, regular change in leadership through election, regular meetings of the Consultative Council (Shura) and the Working Committee (Aamla) and discouragement of dynastic leadership within the party, have favoured the JI and it has been ranked as the most democratic political party in the country,” the PILDAT report said.
A landmark amendment was made in the constitution of the party in October 2015 in which 10 seats have been allocated for women in the party’s Majlis-e-Shura. Although Jamaat follows a particular type of internal democracy in which there are no candidates in the party election and an election campaign is not allowed, this peculiarity has not come in the way of the party securing the top slot as the most democratic party.
The National Party (currently led by Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo) has emerged as the second most democratic party of 2015 with an overall score of 47 per cent, which is a significant improvement over the party’s 4th position in 2014. Regular change in top leadership since its founding in 2003, party conventions successfully conducted in 2015 in which transparent party elections also took place for all four provincial chapters of the party, and lack of any sign of dynastic leadership have added to the democratic credentials of the National Party, the report said.