|
 Centre for Civic Education Pakistan has initiated
“Civic Link Lectures Series” to provide
forum
for discussion on vital civic concerns. First lecture of the
series on, “NGOs and Political Parties: Can they be
complementary Players?” was delivered by Mr. Ivan Doherty,
Director of Political Party Programs at the National Democratic
Institute (NDI).
Ivan Doherty said political parties form the corner stone of
democratic society. He said political parties contest elections
and make governments and when cannot win majority play the role
of constructive opposition to put pressure on the incumbents to
be more responsible. However, political parties around the world
were faced with the bigger challenge of citizens becoming
increasingly less engaged with parties. He said NGOs were often
organized around a single issue and put pressure on political
parties for solution of that particular issue.
Renowned political scientist, Dr. Saeed Shafqat reflected on
Pakistani situation and said that NGOs and political parties in
Pakistan are not complementing each other. Political Parties
feel threatened that their work had been taken by the NGOs. He
said political parties are imperative for democracy but in
Pakistan, they are personality driven and needed to be reformed.
He suggested that the parties should agree on broader principles
of democracy like rule of law, tolerance to dissent, and
respecting rights of the minorities. Back |
