TWO of the prominent political parties in Pakistan the Pakistan People`s Party and the Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid held their intra-party elections in Islamabad recently, and supposedly elected their respective party heads.
Needless to say, everyone got elected unopposed. No details were shared by the two parties with the national media or with the people at large.
Such charades expose the hollowness of our political structure. The show-of-hands method and unopposed victories reflect a deeply flawed process that is void of transparency and is against the spirit of inner-party democracy.
To be fair to the two parties, it must be kept in mind that intra-party elections in almost all the mainstream political parties in Pakistan are a mere formality,with the top-most positions remaining reserved exclusively for a privileged few.
The only exception on this count is the Jamaat-i-1slami.
The current system is actually nothing but a vehicle for elite capture and dynastic hegemony. Party workers who have been toiling for decades continue to be denied any real opportunity to rise within the party cadres.
Unfortunately, genuine voices, often from humble social backgrounds, are silenced or ignored, lacking the wealth as well as influence required to assert themselves in an unfair an elitist system.
