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Balance of power
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Mir Jamil-ur-Rahman
It was Gen Musharraf's pet theory that true democracy would remain an unfulfilled dream unless there was balance of power between the major stakeholders of the country. According to him, the stakeholders were the president, the prime minister and the COAS. It was a ridiculous theory that died an ignominious death with the exit of the military dictator. Now, PM Gilani has used the word 'balance' with reference to sharing out power among the stakeholders for the first time. He told the National Assembly last week that his government was committed to creating a balance of power between the presidency and the parliament. He forcefully declared, "We will go to any extent to protect the parliament".
Musharraf deemed Pakistan a private limited company of which he considered himself chairman and managing director at the same time. Despite his claims of creating balance, he remained the single stakeholder of 'Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd', and for nine years he played havoc with the country as well as its Constitution. It was his nefarious amendments that destroyed the real spirit of the Constitution. Prime Minister Gilani would need all his political acumen and Saraiki charm to produce a consensus package to undo the damage Musharraf caused to the Constitution in the form of amendments including the Seventeenth amendment. It would be an uphill task for the prime minister to restore the 1973 Constitution to its original form, as his party does not even enjoy simple majority in the National Assembly.
Musharraf, through an amendment, increased the number of seats of National Assembly to 342, making it improbable for any political party to win 172 seats - the minimum requirement to form the government. PM Gilani would need 228 votes - two-third of the total members of the National Assembly - to get any constitutional amendment through. It can be done effortlessly if consensus could be reached on the proposed amendments. The simplest way would be for PPP (130) and PML-N (95) joining hands which adds up to 225 votes, just three short of the two-third majority. That deficit could be made up by joining the coalition partners such as MQM (26) and ANP (13). However, if PML-N is not satisfied with the proposed amendment, we may expect hard bargaining and the rebirth of horse-trading.
The real problem for the government will be Article 58 (2)(b) that empowers the president to dissolve the NA at his discretion and sack the prime minister. This ugliest provision of the constitution had been inserted by Gen Zia through his Eighth Amendment to suppress democracy. Nawaz Sharif had repealed it but Musharraf reinstated it. Now, not only President Zardari appears to be in favour of it so as to keep the MNAs in line, Prime Minister Gilani also seems to have a soft corner for 58 (2)(b). Though he asserts that the said Article is harmless because now the president's exercise of this power has to be approved by the Supreme Court, the other factor influencing him might be the co-chairman of the PPP whose tilt towards 58 (2)(b) is not hidden from anyone.
How Mr Gilani plans to protect the parliament in the presence of 58 (2)(b), which is aimed at destroing the parliament, is a matter of concern for many. PM Gilani should not fall for the idea of balance of power between the so-called stakeholders. The power, according to the Constitution, rests with the parliament headed by the prime minister. Two bosses simply mean bad governance which should be avoided at all cost in order to stabilise democracy in the country.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Mir Jamil-ur-Rahman
It was Gen Musharraf's pet theory that true democracy would remain an unfulfilled dream unless there was balance of power between the major stakeholders of the country. According to him, the stakeholders were the president, the prime minister and the COAS. It was a ridiculous theory that died an ignominious death with the exit of the military dictator. Now, PM Gilani has used the word 'balance' with reference to sharing out power among the stakeholders for the first time. He told the National Assembly last week that his government was committed to creating a balance of power between the presidency and the parliament. He forcefully declared, "We will go to any extent to protect the parliament".
Musharraf deemed Pakistan a private limited company of which he considered himself chairman and managing director at the same time. Despite his claims of creating balance, he remained the single stakeholder of 'Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd', and for nine years he played havoc with the country as well as its Constitution. It was his nefarious amendments that destroyed the real spirit of the Constitution. Prime Minister Gilani would need all his political acumen and Saraiki charm to produce a consensus package to undo the damage Musharraf caused to the Constitution in the form of amendments including the Seventeenth amendment. It would be an uphill task for the prime minister to restore the 1973 Constitution to its original form, as his party does not even enjoy simple majority in the National Assembly.
Musharraf, through an amendment, increased the number of seats of National Assembly to 342, making it improbable for any political party to win 172 seats - the minimum requirement to form the government. PM Gilani would need 228 votes - two-third of the total members of the National Assembly - to get any constitutional amendment through. It can be done effortlessly if consensus could be reached on the proposed amendments. The simplest way would be for PPP (130) and PML-N (95) joining hands which adds up to 225 votes, just three short of the two-third majority. That deficit could be made up by joining the coalition partners such as MQM (26) and ANP (13). However, if PML-N is not satisfied with the proposed amendment, we may expect hard bargaining and the rebirth of horse-trading.
The real problem for the government will be Article 58 (2)(b) that empowers the president to dissolve the NA at his discretion and sack the prime minister. This ugliest provision of the constitution had been inserted by Gen Zia through his Eighth Amendment to suppress democracy. Nawaz Sharif had repealed it but Musharraf reinstated it. Now, not only President Zardari appears to be in favour of it so as to keep the MNAs in line, Prime Minister Gilani also seems to have a soft corner for 58 (2)(b). Though he asserts that the said Article is harmless because now the president's exercise of this power has to be approved by the Supreme Court, the other factor influencing him might be the co-chairman of the PPP whose tilt towards 58 (2)(b) is not hidden from anyone.
How Mr Gilani plans to protect the parliament in the presence of 58 (2)(b), which is aimed at destroing the parliament, is a matter of concern for many. PM Gilani should not fall for the idea of balance of power between the so-called stakeholders. The power, according to the Constitution, rests with the parliament headed by the prime minister. Two bosses simply mean bad governance which should be avoided at all cost in order to stabilise democracy in the country.
