In a report launched by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) on Monday, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) stayed on top in terms of internal democracy in 2015, while the PML-N remained as the least democratic party for the second consecutive year.
Irregular or no party meetings, a lack of competitive elections and continuation of the same leadership since the founding of the PML-N are the factors perceived as the major weaknesses in its democratic character.
Of the selected eight political parties, the PML-N is followed by MQM and JUI-F, rated as the second least democratic parties among the eight evaluated.
The Pildat score card places the JI at number 1 with 56 per cent score, National Party (NP) at number 2 with 47pc score, the PTI at number 3 with 44pc score, Awami National Party (ANP) at number 4 with 40pc score, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) at number 5 with 36pc score, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-(JUI-F) and Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) both at number 6 with 33pc score, and the PML-N at number 7 with 31pc score.
The report observed that PTI’s 2012-13 intra-party elections were among the most popularly contested and elaborate in the country’s history, but they turned out to be deeply flawed by the party’s own admission.
