Does Pakistan Need Presidential System Like Afghanistan?

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Written by Zulfiqar Gul

With recent massive success of Afghanistan Presidential elections, in which voters were allowed to directly elect the President, in Pakistan, it can also be adopted to help establish a strong civilian government without any political blackmailing coming from MPAs. In Pakistan, it is obvious that the parliamentary system, modeled after the British system of representative government, has failed to perform as desired due to mixing up of Legislative and Executive entities. As to complicate matters further, the voters tends to fall for a particular consistency candidate rather than giving consideration to a certain party’s ideology or manifesto, which results in hung parliament  and honest political parties securing fewer seats.

If the current system fails to reflect popular trends, can it legitimately be called a Democracy? For example, a certain political party’s leader maybe popular among the masses , yet due to the indirect nature of our political system, he/she may not be able to win more than forty seats. Even, should he/she finish first with ninety or so seats, they would still need to gather small parties to meet the simple majority of 137 of total 273 general seats to form a coalition government at the federal level. Afterward, a jumbo size cabinet would come into being to keep every coalition partner happy. Platoons of ministers would be a consistent burden on our economy with zero output being seen. Thus it might pay the way for undemocratic forces to eventually grind hopes for democracy in Pakistan to a halt only to see our problems being tripled.

With respect to the endemic confusion representative in democracy seen in a country like Pakistan, we should consider a modified version of the Presidential system practiced in the United States. This more direct democracy allows the Executive, “President”, to choose his/her cabinet team with each member having the required technical skills to head various government departments efficiently and at less cost to the governed, while the Legislative Body “The Senate” is left to focus on lawmaking without the burden of administrative duties. In this regard, I have outlined the proposed Three Tier Presidential System for Pakistan 

The Federal Government

*The Center shall hold  five subjects, namely Defense, Foreign Affairs, Currency,  Communication and Interior Security whereas the rest shall be transferred to the provinces.

*The President shall be the head of the government and State.

*The size of the Federal Cabinet shall not exceed seventeen members made up of, but not limited to retired civil servants, economists, foreign policy experts, educators, scientists, legal experts, sports administrators, etc. As the President deems best able to carry out their advisory and administrative duties, said officials are not required to be members of the legislative body.

*Elections to the office of President: All political parties, having been registered with the Elections Commission for the last seven years, may nominate a candidate for election. Any candidate securing 51% of total votes cast shall be declared President for a fixed term of four years. In the case that no candidate obtains the minimum 51% of total votes, those two with the highest percentage of votes will proceed to Run off Elections to be held within next twenty days. The winner of the Runoff Election will then be declared President of Pakistan for the stated four-year term. Presidential term limit will be held to three elected terms.

*Elections to the Senate: Senate elections shall be held once every four years. Each province shall have forty seats along with one from Islamabad, ten from tribal areas, fifteen for minorities, and twelve for women. A member of the Senate cannot be re-elected more than once 

*The minimum age for voting shall be reduced from eighteen to sixteen years.

*Procedure for amendment in the Constitution: A bill shall be initiated in the Senate and shall be approved by two-third majority. In the final phase, it shall be presented before the people of Pakistan for their endorsement through referendum and then has to receive the assent of the President to become a la

The Provincial Government

*Governor shall be the Chief Executive of the Province. The same procedure outlined above for the office of Federation President shall be utilized in the election of Provincial Governors. He/she shall be eligible to hold no more than three elected terms of four years each.

*Provincial cabinets will be eight in number.

*Provincial Senate Elections: Provincial Senate election shall be held once every four years with each district represented by one member each. A member of the Senate cannot be re-elected than once for a term of fours years.

The District Government

*The Mayor shall be entrusted with the responsibility of heading the District Government. He/she shall be elected to no more than three three-year terms.

*District Council Elections: District councils shall be elected in like manner to that used for the Senate at Federal and Provincial levels. Within the council every Tehsil shall have one member each. The duration of District Council shall not exceed three years. No member of a District Council can be elected more than once.

Understandably Pakistanis have some reservations about Presidential systems based on both the term and office having been abused by military dictators of the past. For that fear to be overcome it must be understood that those self-promoted individuals were not acting in a true Presidential capacity based on that inherent in the intra-regulating checks and balances built into the U.S. Governmental system. Dictators, not Presidents, force their way to power through military strength, uncontested referendum, or controllable so-called basic democratics. In a system modeled after the U.S, even a one vote can change the destiny of the nation. Every political party’s candidate has the opportunity to express himself/herself freely and convince voters of their ability to lead efficiently and lawfully the country towards progress. When their terms expire they can be evaluated by voters and democratically re-elected or deposed peaceably. There is no opportunity for dictatorships to arise out of Presidential system. The doors will be opened to honest, fresh political ideas through a direct voting system at all three levels starting from district. Through frequent exercise of voting power, the masses will become mature and their sense of selection will improve. The question becomes now, do we need a Presidential System, “Direct Democracy,” with maximum provincial autonomy or should we continue with the current British Representative System of “Indirect Democracy?

Written by Zulfiqar Gul

Email:  gul.zulfiqar@gmail.com

SOURCE: http://www.pashtunwomenvp.com/index.php/2013-01-28-03-21-27/political/445-does-pakistan-need-presidential-system-like-afghanistan