Beyond the Ballot Box
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BEYOND THE BALLOT BOX Report from the Deepening and Sustaining Democracy in Asia Conference, 11-14 October 2009 The Centre for Bhutan Studies 1 Beyond the Ballot Box Copyright © The Centre for Bhutan Studies 2010 First published: 2010 ISBN 978-99936-14-61-6 The Centre for Bhutan Studies Post Box No. 1111 Thimphu, Bhutan Telephone: 00975-2-321111, 321005 Facsimile: 00975-2- 321001 Email: [email protected] www.bhutanstudies.org.bt www.grossnationalhappiness.com 2 CONTENTS CONTENTS i. Foreword vii ii. Acknowledgements ix iii. Introduction x iv. Opening Remarks Dasho Karma Ura xxi v. Keynote Address Mr Ajay Chhibber 1 vi. Keynote Address HE Jigmi Y Thinley, 10 Prime Minister of Bhutan I. Foundations of Democracy 1. Public Opinion, Happiness, and the Dr Henry S Richardson 25 Will of the People: Policy-making in a Democracy 2. Democracy and Difference: Going Dr Peter Hershock 60 beyond Liberal Freedoms and Illiberal Order 3. Constitutional Values and Rule of Geraldine Fraser- 101 Law Moleketi II. Experiences in Democracy 4. Democracy in the Non-West: Facts, Dr Nitasha Kaul 115 Fictions and Frictions 5. Constitution - the King’s Gift: Dasho Sonam Kinga 134 Defiling and Sanctifying a Sacred Gift 6. Experience of Indian Democracy Pavan K Verma 181 7. Grass Roots Democracy and Dr George Mathew 189 Decentralisation III. Civic Rights and Participation 8. Women’s Role in Politics - Quantity Sultana Kamal 209 and Quality 9. Civil liberties and Security Anthony Grayling 229 10. Citizen’s Assessment of Ahmed Mehboob 237 Parliaments Performance IV. Election and Justice 11. The Majority Judgement: A New Professor Michel 257 Mechanism for Electing and Ranking Balinski 12. Happiness and Punishment John Bronsteen 269 V. Accountability and Freedom 13. Voice, Accountability and Freedom Dr Sabina Marie Alkire 292 14. Concluding Remarks HE Jigmi Y Thinley 320 15 Biographies 373 4 FOREWORD The Regional Conference on Deepening and Sustaining Democracy in Asia held in Paro, Bhutan, during October 11-14, 2009 was a landmark. Twelve countries from South Asia and the greater Asian region, eminent resource persons from the rest of the world, and representatives of media, civil society and the development community involved in the theory and practice of democracy benefitted from the exchange of ideas and experiences at this event. The conference marked the beginning of a regional dialogue on how to collectively address the challenges of deepening democratic culture and maximising its dividends for development in harmony with the rich traditions and ethos of respective countries. With democratically elected governments in power in all South Asian countries, the region is now at a crossroads – take steps to sustain and consolidate democratic principles in governance, or face the risks of a roll-back of democracy. The rich mix of conference participants brought to the fore critical foundational insights and practical experiences and lessons in democracy. All participants agreed that the basic guiding principles of democracy – such as freedom of expression, inclusive participation and equal access to justice – are common to all. Each country must develop its own tools and mechanisms to put these principles into action. These perspectives have been documented in the present report, which serves as both a record of the proceedings of the Conference as well as the repository to the wealth of resource materials presented at this forum. Asia has the promise of sustaining democracy with democratically elected Governments in all of South Asia and in many other parts of the region. The Paro Conference was a first step in the regional dialogue on democracy, which the participants felt should be pursued to carry the momentum forward with the Republic of Maldives agreeing to host the next conference in 2010. vii It is hoped that the Report’s insights will inspire greater appreciation for democratic values and principles and ultimately inform people’s choices in the region and beyond. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Centre for Bhutan Studies would like to thank the following governments and organisations for their support in making this Conference possible: United Nations Development Programme, Bhutan Government of Denmark Government of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bhutan Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Bhutan Cabinet Secretariat, Bhutan Royal Bhutan Police, Bhutan Department of National Properties, Bhutan Dzongkang Administration, Paro Bhutan Broadcasting Service Corporation Limited Systimax Audiovisual And a special mention to the Management and Staff at Zhiwa Ling Hotel, Paro and for the 16 graduates who worked as volunteer protocol officers for the visiting participants. For a summary of each discussion during the Conference please visit the Centre for Bhutan Studies website www.bhutanstudies.gov.bt The summaries were provided by the following rapporteurs: Stefan Priesner, Chencho G Dorjee, Farhan Sab, Irman G Lanti, Phuntsho Rapten, Samuel De Jargere, Karma Wangdi, Surekha Subarwai, Naima Mohamed, Kuenzang Lhadon, Sumeeta Banerji and Tashi Dorji. ix INTRODUCTION The Royal Government of Bhutan, the Centre for Bhutan Studies and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), organised a three-day regional Conference on democracy entitled “Deepening and Sustaining Democracy in Asia” from October 11-14 2009, at the Zhiwa Ling Hotel, Paro. The inspiration for this Conference emerged from discussions between the Honourable Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley and Mr Ajay Chhibber, United Nations Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. The Conference was held not only to mark the smooth and peaceful democratic transition of Bhutan in 2008, but also as a platform to share lessons and experiences among countries in the region to help strengthen, deepen and sustain the democratic culture and values in Asia. Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament from 13 countries representing South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) groups as well as others, participated in the Conference. Representatives of non-governmental and civil society organisations from a number of Asian countries, United Nations and international organisations representatives attended alongside regional journalists and Bhutanese participants. Fifteen internationally acclaimed scholars and experts on democracy presented papers and animated the discussions on a range of topics. Specifically, these were: Foundations of Democracy Experiences in Democracy Civic Rights and Participation Elections and Justice Accountability and Freedom These topics provided the opportunity to focus on the basic guiding principles of democracy – freedom of expression, equal access to justice, x Beyond the Ballot Box and that each country should develop its own tools and mechanisms to put these principles into action. Foundations of Democracy The Conference began on a high note with two scholars, Professor Henry Richardson and Dr Peter Hershock, providing the philosophical underpinnings of the concept and foundations of democracy. They focused on the role of happiness in democratic policy-making arguing for the need of people to have the opportunity to form opinions about democracy that go beyond instant responses as in the case of opinion polls but through deliberative processes where dialogue helps people think things through. They also focused on practical intelligence, i.e. the constant opportunity to rethink our aims in the face of new obstacles. They also commented on the usefulness of happiness indices. While these are useful these should be seen as an input in the deliberative process, rather than a tool replacing disciplined deliberative processes. They also explored how Buddhist teachings could contribute to rethinking these issues. The discussions cantered on the importance of deliberation quality, democratic leadership, Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a new paradigm, democracy as an ends or as a means, the role of happiness, so-called Asian values, customising democracy, universality versus particularity, and the scientific approach to democratic practices, such as elections. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi (UNDP) spoke about the collectively responsibility of state and non-state actors to strengthen and enforce the rule of law. She dwelled on South Africa’s constitutional experience and highlighted efforts to involve citizens and the balancing act to accommodate the views of multiple stakeholders in the constitutional process. However, the experience of democracy of several countries in the region has been mixed. Democracy has been thwarted and reversed but has repeatedly been reformed and rediscovered. The panelist from Nepal, Dr Narayan Khadka, was of the view that sharing democratic lessons and experiences would prevent roll back and the democratic deficit in emerging democracies. In sharing Nepal’s constitutional processes the speaker emphasised that while constitutional values guide individual rights, it is a challenge when constitutional values interact with social, cultural, religious and ethnic values in a diverse society like Nepal. Interpretation of constitutional values such as xi Introduction justice, freedom and equality differ among societal groups particularly between the elite and underprivileged, poor, marginalised and ethnic minorities. Discussions in the session focused on challenges faced in capturing the aspirations of people in the