Democracy... The Number 2 System of Governance

DEMOCRACY

THE

“NUMBER TWO SYSTEM”

OF GOVERNANCE

The Creator Lord of all humans and indeed of the entire universe has ordained a system operating everything that we can perceive and also that that we are unable to comprehend. HE alone possesses and retains the ultimate power to keep the system operational. The declared system of managing the collective affairs of all humans as spelled out by Almighty Allah can be summarized as “Sovereignty to Govern is His domain, and it is made operational through His appointees and their devotees”. For reference sake let us term it as “number one system”. It has its roots in the enormous love and affection that the Creator Lord desires and displays for the humans. The recorded history of humankind, however, reveals that they have mostly been working against this owing probably to the satanic interference in their affairs. We, therefore, note with understandable concern that in the known history of humankind only a handful numbers of persons are seen in the governmental control of operating this system as His appointees and their true devotees.   

Humans are Almighty Allah’s proud creation. They are His viceroy on this planet and He has gifted them with (fractions of) His power in almost all spheres of life and living. Within the control that Allah Almighty exercises over His creation, He has allowed the humans to have their way in the defined spheres of life. He desires that the humans live their life as His servants enjoying this world in the company of other creatures found on or around this planet. He also desires that the humans become eligible to qualify for His indefinite blessings that will be granted to them for the infinite life span beginning with the ending of this life.

Understanding of the nature of His creation and knowledge of the performance of humans has, however, provoked the Creator Lord, once again out of sheer and unlimited mercy and infinitely deep love for His creation, to outline a “number two system” of governing their collective affairs. This system aims at ensuring their well being in the life of this world without guaranteeing their ultimate success in the life hereafter. In the “number one system” Almighty Allah retains the authority and also the responsibility with Him and in the “number two system” He desires of handing it over to the humans. Where the “number one system” is operated by the persons of His choosing, in the “number two system” it is the humans that are entitled to nominate and choose their representatives to steer the system. In the “number one system” the total command and control rests with Him and He remains entirely responsible for the behaviour of His chosen ones too. Logically speaking, therefore, the success of “number two system” would depend on the extent of the command and control of the humans and the level of their hold on the doings of their chosen ones.   

Humans in their known and recorded history have so far tried and endured the below mentioned systems that they coined for themselves:-  

 Monarchy,     Government by a single ruler (king/queen, emperor).

Aristocracy,     Government by noblemen (hereditary).

Oligarchy,       Government by few persons.

Theocracy,      “Government by God" (in reality this means government by religious leaders)

Dictatorship,   Government by such people that have seized power by force (often: military dictatorship)

Democracy,    Government of the people, for the people and by the people. It is considered as opposite to the other above mentioned systems of governance.

Almost all forms of governing mechanisms being practiced in today’s world, do have a certain level of democratic content in their makeup. Most of the above mentioned governing mechanisms have, nonetheless, been unsuccessful in delivering the idealized outcome i.e. the true wellbeing of masses. Democracy, however, appears to be the nearest to the “number two system” outlined by Almighty Allah. But this too, as practiced in its various forms in today’s world, has been unable to ensure the total wellbeing of the masses. It is, however, noteworthy that the success or otherwise of this system was/is and would continue to be directly proportional to the level, the constancy and the consistency of the command and control exercised by the humans in all areas of the system. In the current context “humans” may be replaced with “voters”.

Close and critical examination of all the above mentioned governing mechanisms in general and the one currently operating in Pakistan in particular, with reference to the democratic content in its makeup, reveals the following:-  

1.     1.  Voters are empowered once in four or five years when the election is to take place. This empowerment attains physical dimensions only for a few minutes when the voter is going through the process of vote casting. In our context the voter is, however, constantly subjected to a number of pressures before, during and even after these moments of empowerment. Some of these are the family bondage, the baggage of social environments, the influence of poverty, the culture of use of unbridled power by the mighty ones and their projected promises regarding provision of basic civic needs. In such scenario it is only unfair to consider such an exercise a free, fair and impartial use of the power of vote.

2.      2. A sizeable majority (over fifty-five percent with reference to the 2008 general elections of Pakistan) of the voter population prefers to stay out of the entire electioneering process thus rendering the whole exercise anything but democratic. This scenario gets further polluted when the majority of the absenting voter class comprises of the independent and educated lot of the society.

3.      3. Influence of the organized media, the momentum of the force of governing mechanism in place and the charm of the charismatic personality aspiring to come or be in power are some of the other distracting factors that simply make fun of the democratic content of the systems in vogue. Orchestration of the ballot box counts, employing innumerable methods of pre and post poll rigging and obtaining results of own liking employing various tiers of the governing mechanism are too well known aspects operating, in varying degrees, against the spirit of democracy almost in all the present day governing systems.

4.     4.  Party based political activities often become hostage to the party line that is mostly guided (or one may say misguided) and controlled by a person or at best a family with vested interests. Thus the party bosses are able to block, deshape and destroy the real spirit of democratic culture. In Pakistan’s political scenario this aspect, besides breeding corruption and abuse of power has been observed obstructing even the process of law making and also the initiation and launching of projects of common good for the country and the society.

5.     5.  Centralized control of national resources, besides breeding corruption and inefficiency, continues to be employed as a tool to subvert the democratic desires and inclinations of the voters. This phenomenon not only helps in destabilizing and derailing the desired democratic way of life but also spreads dissatisfaction and disenchantment amongst the masses. Irritants amongst the provinces and the center often take birth consequent to this aspect.

6.     6.  In the prevalent election culture of our country it is mostly the influential, often the corrupt, and to a large extent the dirty rich persons that stand a fair chance of imposing their desire of becoming voter’s representatives. God fearing and the good lot of humans find it awfully difficult and painfully cumbersome to measure to the challenge and thus they normally prefer to stay out of the entire electioneering process.

7.     7.  Administrative and other set ups put in place to make the governing mechanism functional have not only become inordinately corrupt and inefficient but also awfully slow in responding to the needs of the masses. These set ups over the years have become monstrous masters instead of servants.

  In the backdrop of above discussion the following may be considered as the Broader Contours of the emerging “number two system”:-  

1.     1.  Allegiance to THE CREATOR LORD is acknowledged (at least) in the matters associated with common wellbeing of each and every voter. This is the bottom line. Humans are perfectly well within their right to follow higher levels of commitment to Almighty Allah in the light of their revealed scriptures and/or the perceived common good of humanity.

2.     2.  The voters must retain the RESPONSIBILITY and also the AUTHORITY of creating, establishing and operating the entire system without getting irretrievably involved in the routine functioning of the set up. The voters also exercise a continuous and consistent control over their representatives in the scenario wherein will of the huge and independent majority prevails on all functionaries of the system.

3.      3. Pyramid of the entire edifice constituting the “number two system” stands completely supported and comprehensively controlled by a Basic Unit (BU) that is composed of a well knit component of the society. The BU is operated by the public representatives made responsible through the process of nomination and election through direct votes of the voters. They remain answerable to every voter throughout their tenure and work for the common wellbeing while remaining under no obligation to meet undue demand of any of the voter. At this level only those individuals are entrusted the task of operating the system that do not desire to accumulate wealth and also harbour no urge to play as bosses over the voters rather cherish the desire of serving the humanity.  

4.     4. All remaining tiers of the proposed governing system are formed from the agreed number of public representatives nominated and voted by the BU council for the next higher tier(s).

5.    5.  All tiers of the governing mechanism operate in the scenario of mutual dependence but operational independence (particularly in the sphere of financial arrangement and control) thereby ensuring a well coordinated move forward on the path to peace and progress of the entire community and the country.

6.      6. The system must and take responsibility of solving all problems of every voter that pertain to governmental arrangements.      

7.     7.  All organs of the state machinery derive their functional strength from the concept of service to the voters. Due democratic controls to implement this aspect are put in place through the constitutional strength of the various tiers that are duly institutionalized based on the strength of the voters and their representatives.

Based on the above outlined Broader Contours an OUTLINE OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM emerges as below:-

Physical Structure: 

1. Comprises of below mentioned seven tiers with each having a well defined area/role:-

1.      Basic Unit (BU) of the pyramid comprises 1200 to 1400 voters in thinly populated areas and up to 5000 to 7000 voters in the densely populated parts of the country. Fundamental criterion being the closeness of the community and the easy approach and access.  

2.     2.  5 to 12 BUs are grouped to form second tier of the pyramid. It may be named as Union Council (UC). UC upwards the existing boundaries of a Tehsil, District, Division, Province and the Country serve as the other FIVE tiers of the governing mechanism. Administrative boundaries of these tiers (barring certainly the country) may be altered to suit cohesiveness of the community in the light of existing communication infrastructure.

3.      3. All above mentioned tiers owe their existence only to the service of the voters and remain in continuation like the Senate to ensure smooth transition of power and uninterrupted completion of development projects at various tiers.

4.     4. Except for the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Higher Education Commission of the country there MAY be NO autonomous body operating outside the jurisdiction of given tiers of the proposed governing mechanism. These two commissions may be made directly answerable to the Country Headperson (CH) for functioning freedom and the optimal output.

5.     5. Armed Forces of the country to operate under the direct control and supervision of the CH while all other law enforcing agencies function under respective tiers of the proposed system. All events of national emergency in the country are tackled by the Armed Forces of Pakistan under instructions from the CH.

Elections and Government Formation/Functioning:

1.      Elections are conducted under the Election Commission of Pakistan in two stages. In first stage every voter is asked to propose his/her representative and in stage two the voters cast their votes for every person proposed in stage one. All those who bag minimum 5 to 7 percent of the total votes are taken as elected representatives of the BU. Efforts must be made to minimize the gap between the conduct of these stages of electioneering process to obviate any manipulations.

2.      Elected representatives of each BU adhering to the process of nomination followed by election pick up/formulate the following:-

a.      Headperson.

b.      Secretary

c.       Imam Masjid or respective religious headperson.

d.      Coordination and Planning Body (CPB).

e.      Zakat/Revenue Collection Body (ZRCB). 

f.        Law and Order Body (LOB).

g.      Civic Facilities Body (CFB).

h.      Education and Sports Body (ESB).

i.        Judicial Body (JB).

j.        Job Assistance Body (JAB)

k.       Agreed number (may be 5-7) of elected representatives to be sent to the next higher tier i.e. UC.  

Notes:

·         These bodies may be added or deleted to suit the peculiar environments/needs/aspirations of particular areas/people.

·         Proper secretariat staff to assist the Secretary may be arranged locally or got posted from higher tiers.

·         Performance of each body is scrutinized in quarterly coordination meetings besides arranging guidelines and formulating working strategy for the future.

·         Suggested responsibilities/duties of above appointments/bodies may be examined for further input at Annex A.  

3.      Above process is repeated to constitute the required bodies at the remaining six tiers of the governing mechanism. At all tiers of governance the whole business is conducted through the various bodies formed for the purpose. There are NO ministers at any level. Existing Ministries and Divisions (suitably modified at the center and at provinces) serve as secretariats of various bodies made responsible for various government functions.

4.      In addition to the existing disciplinary rules/procedures all elected representatives hand over their resignations to the Headperson of respective BU who would invoke the same after following the due procedure. This would happen when more than fifty percent of the total voters of the BU declare an elected representative as persona non-grata. The fact as to at which tier of the governing mechanism such an elected representative is working would have little effect. 

5.      Existing administrative set up is retained with due modifications and made answerable to the elected representatives through respective corresponding heads at various tiers. Experts taken from existing administrative set-up are tasked to assist the voter’s representatives and render technical advice in routine functions besides keeping records of all matters.  

6.      Law making process is initiated at the level of concerned body and follows a procedure where every representative working at the tier serves as a concerned party. Every tier is, however free to make laws and rules relevant to its functioning but without causing any interference in the operation of other tiers. Coordination and Planning Bodies of different tiers will coordinate to remove any frictions.

7.      Higher tiers do not interfere in the domain of lower tiers except for extending a helping hand to complete the planned/intended development projects and/or boosting their efficiency/capacity under emergent or unusual circumstances.

Resource Creation and Control:

1.      All taxes including the ones enshrined by Almighty Allah through His Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] are collected at the level of BU by the ZRCB. Each higher tier posts qualified person(s) to maintain records of all financial matters at the immediate below tier.

2.      Seventy percent of the generated revenue is utilized at BU level for its functioning and on the planned projects in agreed areas of voter’s wellbeing.

3.      Thirty percent of the generated revenue at BU level is transmitted to the higher tier (UC).

4.      Each UC retains seventy two percent of the received and also the generated revenue for agreed purposes. Out of the remaining amount fourteen percent is transmitted to the next higher tier and fourteen percent distributed amongst the constituent BUs to ensure equitable progress of all areas.

5.      Above process is repeated at every higher tier of the governing mechanism. Downward transmissions of the above mentioned percentage of total revenue collected/generated should follow the criterion of uniform development of all segments of the country and the society.

6.      Resource generating areas are clearly spelled out for various tiers to avoid any friction amongst the governing tiers and also to save the tax payers of any duplicity.

7.      Quarterly internal audit of all financial matters at each tier and half yearly external audits by the one step higher tier are so arranged that audit authorities remain busy round the year. Audit teams are headed by the elected representatives and assisted by the experts drawn from existing administrative set up. All audit reports are made public for voter’s consumption. At country level a separate but autonomous audit team (like the public accounts committee) is created to undertake the required job.  

Common Instructions:

1.      The proposed system, in a viable shape, may be opened for debate for about a year before giving it a workable profile. Draft along with all the details should then be viewed by the experts in various walks of life before finalizing the same. In its final shape it may then be placed before the parliament seeking its endorsement. On authorization (or even rejection) from the parliament it should be put through a referendum in the country for final ratification.

2.      Before making the system operational, the available administrative structure in the country must be made to build its capacity to support smooth implementation of the proposed “NUMBER TWO SYSTEM” of governing the affairs of humans.

3.      A body may be created at Senate Secretariat to follow through the idea and keep track of all input from various quarters. The body may remain functional under the Senate Chairman to sort out the teething problems that are likely to come up during implementation stage. The body should also arrange training of the elected representatives to ensure full grasp of the system and guarantee smooth functioning for optimal results.

Authored by

SYED SARFRAZ HUSSAIN