Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Philippines states that the “State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”
In Pakistan no such constitutional impediment is imposed upon dynastic politics. But, factually speaking the politics of dynasty has made deeper inroads in the political arena, worsening the textures of public institutions.
Unfolding few leaves of history will expose the veracity that no military ruler took the rein of power alone without the tacit support of those belonging to the dynastic clan of politics.
The coterie of elites representing the power politics shifting from one face to another in all seasons is nothing, but a descriptive account of the Machiavellian style of governance, which the developed world put in burner a long way back.
Such sort of political dynasty in the country makes rules, policies and budgets which favors them. Pocketing enough resources, they can easily manipulate the outcomes of elections mostly through the gambit of ‘cash for votes’.
Gauging the historical track record will unearth that cash bidding makes headlines in the media for few days during elections for the Upper House, but the hullaballoo is silenced eventually for lack of authority to mend the power pole that has taken deeper roots in our society and the system of governance.
It is not the status quo of the system that people often talk of, but the way things are stirring from bad to worse is worrisome indeed.
No economic research study has yet been undertaken to quantify the impacts of dynastic politics on the kind of economic distortions that it is crafting.
Looking at the economic landscape, the metaphor of economy is battered. Poverty, unemployment and inflation rates have skyrocketed and economic growth rate is edging down. Middle class is increasingly eroding due to opaque economic stress, economy is skewed in favour of politics of heredity and regional imbalance is widening with the day bygone. Worse, still there are manifolds crippling failures because of the morass of governance, being administered.
Correcting the tide of dynastic style of governance is imperative to allow democracy to take robust contours. But, a real opposition is also indispensable for halting the progression of dynastic politics.
In democratic countries, both media and opposition reinforce each other and provide a platform for shaping public opinions and governmental policies. Over here, owing to the absenteeism of a proactive opposition, it is the free media which for a long time has been voicing loudly against the dynastic politics.
Equally, the onus of responsibility lies on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure fair elections by amending its own rules and heightening the level of mass awareness.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Lahore Times.