Democracy report

Though democracy in Pakistan has never been on a solid pedestal any time in the past, it has taken more of a hit in recent times – ironically when we have had an interrupted ‘democratic’ rule in the country for more than a decade. The only consolation is perhaps the fact that democratic standards across the world fell again in 2021, due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic and growing support for authoritarianism. At the moment, just over 45 percent of the world’s population lives in a democracy, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s latest report on how the world fared in terms of democracy in 2021. As in 2020, less than half of the world’s population found themselves in a democratic dispensation, and that is a trend showing further deterioration in democracy. The EIU’s annual democracy index has highlighted continued challenges to democracy worldwide. The index is a measurement of the state of global democracy and its latest iteration shows the biggest fall in standards of democracy since 2010 in most countries it surveyed.

The recent results register a dismal record of global score since the index was first produced in 2006. Even Spain was downgraded to a ‘flawed democracy’ rating, particularly with reference to its score for judicial independence. The UK has also dropped in the ranking following controversies over party financing as a series of scandals. In 2020, 49 percent people lived in a democracy compared with 45 percent in 2021. If you consider ‘full democracy’ as defined by the EIU, just over six percent of people reside in full democracies. This while more than a third of the world’s population lives under authoritarian regimes; a large proportion of it the EIU placed in China, which has become ‘richer but not more democratic’. The most democratic countries in the world are Finland, New Zealand, and Norway; the most authoritarian are Afghanistan, Myanmar, and North Korea.

Pakistan has ranked 104th among 167 countries. It has performed poorly on nearly all indicators such as electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. It is included in the table of ‘hybrid regimes’ along with countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Turkey. Pakistan has ranked even lower than Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. In South Asia, India is ranked as a flawed democracy with an overall rank of 46. For Pakistan, this report offers a lot of food for thought. To lift the state of democracy in the country, efforts are needed to improve the electoral process and ensure pluralism. Democracy requires enhanced political participation by the people, an independent judiciary, a free press and fair and free elections, as well as strict adherence to the constitution. Needless to say, Pakistan scores poorly on all counts, and needs a complete overhaul in both the political culture and protection of civil liberties in the country.