McKinnon stresses need to strengthen Parliaments, build democracy

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon on 25 September 2007 underlined the need for providing more powers and freedom to parliaments and pressed Pakistan, Bangladesh and Fiji Islands to return to representative, civilian democracy.

"The next four months are critical for Pakistan, where the democratic tradition has found it difficult to take root. The Commonwealth will continue to press for the upholding of its values and a return to representative, civilian democracy," Mr McKinnon said while opening the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference that brings together parliamentarians from the Commonwealth member countries in Delhi, India.

"I was in Islamabad when a Presidential election was announced for 6 October. President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan assured me that, if re-elected, he will relinquish his role as chief of army staff before he is sworn in as president."

The Secretary-General also stressed the need for an early election in Bangladesh.

"Although Bangladesh has not flouted its constitution, the interim government is stretching the support and confidence of the 140 million citizens of Bangladesh the longer the country goes without a directly elected parliament and government," he added.

Referring to Fiji, which is under military rule after a coup late last year, Mr McKinnon regretted that although the Commonwealth was trying to nudge the military regime for elections, it hasn't succeeded as yet.

"Hard as we try to edge forward in dialogue, I am still not in a position to be able to report that the interim regime in Suva has set a clear date for elections," he said. Fiji Islands was suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth in the wake of the military overthrow of a democratically elected regime in December 2006.

But these cases should not allow us to overlook good stories about democracy in the Commonwealth, the Secretary-General stated, citing peaceful changes of government in Jamaica and Sierra Leone.

"In both cases the people spoke and their wishes were respected. By and large, our Commonwealth remains a living example of democracy in both theory and practice," he said.

Mr McKinnon underlined the need for strengthening parliaments as a way to bolster democratic culture in Commonwealth countries.

"Parliaments need to be given the means and the freedoms. The rules and procedures for how a parliament operates are very crucial as is the committee structure and the provision of an appropriate and regular budget."

The Secretary-General held India as an exemplary democracy, the largest democracy in the Commonwealth.

"How fitting, then, that we now meet in the vibrant capital of the largest democracy in the world, less than a mile from Parliament House, the symbol that represents the fulfilment of Mahatma Gandhi's extraordinary legacy," he said.

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