Pakistan needs all hands on deck

The new year will start with Pakistan facing multiple challenges that need to be met in a politically calm environment.

- MALEEHA LODHI

The complex nature of overlapping challenges and the fact that no single party can tackle them on its own calls for political leaders and other stakeholders to rise above their narrow interests and evolve agreement on core issues even as they continue to compete with each other. A national compact is needed that reflects political consensus on the following key issue areas.

Consensual democracy: Political stability requires consensus not just on the continuance of democracy but also its functioning on the basis of respect for fundamental freedoms, tolerance and mutual accommodation. Consensual democracy should be distinguished from majoritarian democracy, which concentrates power in the hands of the majority. Consensual democracy means sharing power in an inclusive system. The federal nature of Pakistan's polity makes this imperative. As also the fact that the last five elections produced hung parliaments and did not deliver a majority to any party. This necessitated coalition governments. The party that emerged as the single largest to lead coalitions won roughly a third or less of the popular vote in these elections. Therefore, the assumption that the winning party is the 'sole representative' of the people must be discarded. Instead, it should be accepted that its mandate is qualified as other parties too have significant electoral support and should be engaged in the working of the political system. A 'winner-takes-all' stance leads to inherently unstable, exclusionary governance.

The regional nature of electoral outcomes, which leaves provinces in the hands of political parties different from the one controlling the centre, also warrants an accommodative approach. The federal government has to work with and not against opposition-run provinces to build inter-provincial consensus on major issues. While the central government can enact laws and take policy measures, their enforcement requires the consent of all provinces.