The present composition of the Senate, its role in parliamentary democracy and the manner in which the Senators are elected does not seem to satisfy the present day requirements when the country is facing tremendous challenges in all walks of life. Weaknesses in the working of Senate emerged gradually that were not addressed in any previous constitutional amendments.
Therefore, no serious debate ever took place if the present structure, role and function of Senate meet our today's democratic set-up. The 100-member Senate institution is indirectly elected by the provincial assembly members as per the rules laid down in Article 59 of the Constitution. In majority of cases, the indirectly elected senators are from the same political parties that have proportionate representation in the provincial assemblies.
Therefore, in reality, there is no election, but only selection by the political leadership of the parties. That is why since 1973, the Senate has not been visible in playing an effective role in the law-making process, overseeing the government policies and providing alternative solutions to country's problems. It seems that it has become a lame duck that neither has the necessary expertise nor is willing to have a meaningful discussion on important issues facing the nation due to the possible fear that the party leadership may be offended.
The composition of Senate gives us an impression that there are only two classes of people, who have representation in this chamber. Firstly, the defeated politicians, who could not win their seats in the National Assembly or did not contest due to fear of losing in the National Assembly but remained loyal to the political party's leadership. Secondly, a "class of relatives" of the party leadership that is predominantly visible in this legislative chamber. One wonders, if that was the only purpose to have two legislative chambers in Pakistan?
There are hardly any experts in the field of education, medicine, finance and social sciences that represent various segments of society. Lack of expert knowledge in these fields is impacting the performance of this institution severely as no meaningful suggestions, debate and alternative solutions emerge from this forum to improve the legislative proposals. The Senate remains a rubber stamp of the National Assembly. Is it not disgraceful that we use this highest forum for this purpose?
Politicians misconceive democracy and argue that democratic legitimacy is only maintained if the decision-makers are democratically elected, irrespective of whether they are capable to understand the national issues, they remain hesitant to consult experts in framing viable and workable long-term policies in the best interest of the country.
If they start behaving undemocratically, then there seems to be no institution that would come up as a saviour of the country. The Senate should act to provide a check and balance on the democratically elected government. It should act as a constraint on the abuse of the political mandate by the majority rule that turns into elected dictatorship. This is visible in the civil governance since 1973.
The Senators must operate on conscientious grounds in order to protect the citizens from the oppression of over-zealous and ill-advised government by debating government policies, providing workable solutions through their expert knowledge and experience in those fields where there is a need to improve legislation and it should be an ongoing exercise. So let us concentrate on properly strengthening its role through check and balancing functions for the good of "democracy."
The current structure of the Senate is a total sham. The present set-up does not adequately represent the technocrats, educated class, neither the middle class nor it includes representatives of ethnic groups and minorities that should be the integrating force within our society. That seems to be the main reason that our legislative structure does not meet our social requirements of this age.
The Senate being a permanent legislative body symbolises the process of continuity in the national affairs. Had the political parties used this chamber as "think tank" by reviewing the legislative process with an eye of expertise, the society and the political parties would have benefited. It should have strengthened the political system in the country as well.
The reforming of this institution has been long overdue. There should be a public debate in electronic and print media across the nation to justify the existence of Senate in its present form, or there is a need to reform that suits our local requirements.
The debate should focus on the role and composition of this institution; it should be directly or indirectly elected body and its relationship with the National Assembly and political parties. The institution in its present form is not capable to act as a body that provides expertise in any field as its composition is heavily dominated by politicians lacking expertise and experience in technical and social areas. The composition of this chamber must ensure debates free from party politics to act as a saviour of the nation and to provide qualitative input during legislative process. We have yet to see any quality debate in this chamber that resulted in returning the bill back to National Assembly for improvements as has been the case in so many other countries of the world.
The recent 18th Constitutional Amendment has proved this status as no meaningful public debate in Senate took place that should have helped a common man to understand the nature of proposed amendments. There was not a single voice raised against some clauses that are considered to be against basic rights of the members, and exempting the political parties to go through election process. In case, our so called "democracy" is unable to tolerate a differently composed Senate free from party politics, then we should reconsider its existence and ask if there is need to have a second chamber at all?
This should not be an institution that should be used for aiding corruption for the political parties or accommodating those that have been rejected by the masses. The institution has become a source of corrupt practices at the expense of oversight and quality of governance. It is essential that the dignity of Senate as an institution should be restored as a chamber to check on the dictatorial type concentration of power by ruling executive class. This may even obviate the necessity of directly elected senators for this chamber as opposed to indirect election as is the case now.
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