Political parties must strengthen democratic norms within their own ranks: Tarin

Political parties in Pakistan are no different from political parties in Arab countries and are not possessing a democratic culture within their ranks - a prerequisite for good governance.
Talking to Business Recorder on telephone, former Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said that all the political parties must strengthen democratic norms within their own ranks, constitute think tanks for capacity building of their candidates as well as leaders who would then be able to ensure good governance in the country.
The aspect of capacity building of candidates is missing in all the political parties and as a result political parties have completely failed to manage the affairs of public sector departments. He said that political parties were also seen distributing various ministries and divisions to their blue eyed boys and this tendency could only be reversed by promoting democratic culture and accountability within the political parties.
However, he said that compared to Arab countries political culture in Pakistan was relatively better largely because of periodic democratic cycles, non-existent in Arab countries, and vocal civil society and media. Tarin said that democratic cycles lead to interaction between government and private sector, which may have been the reason for relatively less crony capitalism in the country. He underlined the need to strengthen institutions, especially Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Parliament and Regulatory bodies for good governance in the country that would in turn provide equitable opportunities to the people in all spheres of life.
Former Finance Minister, a panelist at a Seminar entitled "Beyond the Arab Spring: Restoring Economic Confidence, Meeting Social Needs" at the World Bank/IMF annual meeting stated that the pervasive culture of "crony capitalism" in the Middle East stems from lack of a democratic culture.
"Political parties that come into power have no history of inclusive and accountable democracy within their own ranks, and usually they gravitate towards charismatic leaders," he reportedly observed. Because of this legacy of authoritarianism the region will need to strengthen its institutional framework for democracy, he added. Tarin stressed the key role that microfinance has played in Pakistan and elsewhere in his region. "Though microfinance, people have created jobs, savings and now they are self funded".