DailyPost 516
FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACY
Democracies have arrived the world over after the Second World War; which was the product of the totalitarian regimes. The genesis dates back to the Westminster Model; the parliamentary system of government developed in the United Kingdom. The nations brush with democracy have been varied & different functioning models can be as different as of Kenya, Pakistan and the US. The de jure and de facto can be as different as Germany and Afghanistan.
The celebrated democratic model of US is seeing visible cracks since Presidential elections 2016. Thirteen months into Trump Presidency, the Russian investigation seems to the only concern of the President. Does democratic elections entail democratic governance? Senior staffing is a big issue. The democratic institutions & the rule of rule is under stress. The intelligence agencies & investigative agencies have been pitched against the President. Is this the rule of law?
The rulers & real executors ought to share democratic perception. Manipulation’s camouflaged in democratic jargon cannot take a anywhere. The litmus test is democratic decision making. Get all the democratic decisions validated by a neutral global panel & we will know where nations stand. It should retrofit with the generic agenda of the nation. Democratic effectiveness is providing solutions to major public issues facing nation.
What is a democratic fit? Legislature, Executive & the Judiciary should be one integrated whole, with least friction, benefiting maximum citizens. Public awareness is the key. BREXIT went the other way round. The checks & balances falls apart. Today large number of democratic nations are caught in the quagmire of questionable elections, investigations, audits, commissions, unending mass movements et al. Governance take a back seat & people too. Is this the democratic blueprint for the world?
FUNCTIONING OF DEMOCRACIES SHOULD STRENGTHEN THEM, RATHER THAN WEAKEN.
Sanjay Sahay