Democracy Index 2020: Pakistan ranked 105th in terms of 'hybrid system' in terms of democracy

 

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In its report, the International Research Organization, which reviews democratic systems in various countries, described Pakistan's system of government as "hybrid". 

  

The report titled 'Democracy Index 2020' examines the prevailing democracy in 165 independent countries and two autonomous regions around the world, including Pakistan. 

  

Pakistan is ranked 105th out of 167 in the Economist Intelligence Unit's EIU's Democracy List, and the country's overall score in 2020 is 4.31, up from the previous two years. Something better than 

  

But according to the report, Pakistan's democracy has declined in 2016 and beyond. 

  

Commenting on the report, Senator Faisal Javed, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting in the Upper House of the Senate of Pakistan, said that the reason for the lack of stability in democracy in the country is the negative attitude of the opposition parties. 

  

The report lists Pakistan as a country with a 'hybrid system' along with Turkey, Nigeria and Bangladesh. It may be recalled that in the formulation of the report, factors such as civil liberties, electoral system and political culture and the scope for participation of people of different views were reviewed. 

  

What is meant by Pakistan's 'hybrid system'? 

  

The EIU has termed Pakistan's system of government as 'hybrid'. According to the agency, countries with hybrid systems have a lot of electoral irregularities due to which they are not considered 'clean and transparent' elections. 

  

The organization has divided all countries into full democracy, weak democracy, hybrid and dictatorship. 

  

The definition of a hybrid system states that government pressure on opposition parties and candidates may be common in such countries. There may be more weaknesses in civil liberties, electoral systems and political culture than in a weak democracy. 

  

According to him, "civil society is weak. Journalists generally face humiliation and pressure and the judiciary is not independent. 

  

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) in Pakistan, said that in some quarters in Pakistan, "hybrid system" is generally understood to mean a nexus between the civilian government and the military. Not necessarily. 

  

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The PDM, an alliance of opposition parties in Pakistan, claims that the country's democracy has been damaged under Prime Minister Imran Khan. However, the government denies the allegations 

  

He said that the ranking of countries in the Democracy Index 2020 has been done in the context of complete democracy, weak democracy, hybrid system and dictatorial system. "Here it means that Pakistan is a middle ground between democracy and dictatorship." 

  

"That is, Pakistan has neither full democracy nor dictatorship." 

  

"In the context of some countries, a dictatorial system of government can mean the military," he says. (But in some countries) dictatorships can include civilians (or) only one political party system. In our case, hybrid means compulsory army, but in this (report) it does not mean that. 

  

He said that for ranking countries, experts take into account factors such as governance, rule of law and collectivist. 

  

Why Pakistan's score is low, and what difference can this ranking make? 

  

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, head of PLDAT, says Pakistan's score is in the worst 'political culture'. The better score is in political participation. "These two scores are the worst." 

  

"Governance is better than that. And the electoral system is even better. We need to work harder on political culture. " 

  

Asked what difference this ranking might make to Pakistan's situation and relations, he said it could affect many sectors. 

  

He says that this could make a difference in the general perception of Pakistan in the world, people coming and going in the country, ie tourism and people's investment. 

  

"Pakistan is in dire need of foreign investment at the moment. If foreign investors find out that this country is a hybrid and the germs of dictatorship are found here, it will be a source of discouragement for them. 

  

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said that according to this ranking, there is a lot of room for improvement for Pakistan. He said that Pakistan's ranking could be improved only if the problems of governance, rule of law, political culture and electoral process were removed. 

  

India and the United States call it 'poor democracy' 

  

The EIU's Democracy Index 2020 ranks India (53rd) and the United States (25th) among the least democracies. 

  

"Since 2015, there has been pressure on India's democratic traditions," the report said. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, a member of the Hindu nationalist party BJP, India's global position has risen from 27th to 53rd. 

  

"Modi-led policies have been branded as anti-Muslim and have spread hatred based on religion, which has damaged the country's political structure." 

  

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According to the report, Modi-led policies in India have been declared anti-Muslim and have spread hatred on the basis of religion, which has damaged the country's political structure. 

  

The report cites controversial citizenship laws, the demolition of the Barbi Masjid and violations of civil liberties during the prevention of the corona virus. 

  

"Compared to India, the overall scores of its Neighbors Bangladesh, Bhutan and Pakistan have improved." 

  

Former US President Donald Trump, on the other hand Under Trump's leadership, the United States has been added to the list of countries with full democracies. "Trump and his appointees have sometimes supported violent attitudes ... Trump has hurt public confidence in democracy with his irrational language and baseless allegations. 

  

Three new 'complete democracies' in Asia 

  

Norway ranks first in the EIU 2020 report, followed by Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, Finland and Denmark, which are among the most democratic countries. 

  

The report also includes Britain, Australia, Germany and Spain. 

  

According to him, there are three new full democracies in Asia: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. There are five full democracies in Asia and 13 in Western Europe. 

  

In addition to the United States, France, Portugal, Israel, Brazil, Italy, Malaysia and South Africa have also been declared weak democracies. 

  

North Korea is at the bottom of the list (167). 

  

The reaction of the government of Pakistan 

  

Commenting on the report, Senator Faisal Javed, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting in the Upper House of the Senate of Pakistan, said that the reason for the lack of stability in democracy in the country is the negative attitude of the opposition parties. 

  

He said that if the government brings a bill in the House to legislate for the welfare of the people and further strengthen the rule of law in the country, obstacles would be put in the way. Faisal Javed said that the government was trying to create awareness among the people about political issues and steps were being taken in this regard, a clear example of which was the recent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan. 

  

He acknowledged that in some cases the government did not live up to the expectations of the people, but in next month's Senate elections, when his party emerges as the majority party in the Senate, it will meet the expectations of the people. Legislation will also be enacted to provide relief.