Is Pakistan Even Ready For Real Democracy?
This may seem controversial, but it doesn’t really seem very much so to me at the moment. That the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has left a void in Pakistani politics shows that the political leadership in Pakistan is still weak and massively personality focused.
What also makes me doubt Pakistan’s devotion to democracy is the choice of replacement for Benazir Bhutto as leader of the Pakistan People’s Party - her 19 year old son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. I mean, a nineteen year old who is still at university?! Have they really got no-one else? Why do they need a Bhutto at the head of the party so much that he even has to change his name? To me, that doesn’t demonstrate a readiness for real democracy.
After all, if any of the party leaders in the UK was assassinated, there would always be several people who could step into the role. It certainly wouldn’t lead a “void”. And neither would there be any call the son - or any other relation - of the now-deceased leader to take over.
Pakistan may well be ready for democracy, as in electing who they want to lead them, but it certainly doesn’t appear to me like they are truly ready for or capable of what I would regard as real democracy with all that that entails within the political system.
What does need to happen, however, is that this election goes ahead - maybe not on the original date, but with only a short delay at most.
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