Internal Democracy in Pakistani Religious Parties: A Comparative Analysis of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami

Democratization is an important phenomenon in the contemporary world. An important feature of modern representative democracy is the emergence of political parties, as these are regarded indispensable for the successful working of democratic institutions. Democracy needs sound and democratic political parties. Democratic political parties ensure successful democracy in every democratic polity. Political parties are considered the lifeline of modern representative democracy and are critically significant in a democratic system. Internal Democracy plays a significant role in the democratization and institutionalization of political parties. The IPD is a broader term and is simply defined as “Rule by the party members”.  Political parties must adopt and promote democratic culture in their ranks in order to encourage the participation of the masses in the political process. This research study was undertaken to investigate the concept of internal democracy in major religious political parties of Pakistan. This research work has also discussed the concept of internal democracy and its impacts on the overall quality of democracy in the country. It applies Michels’ (1911) “Iron law of oligarchy” theory to study the oligarchical and dynastical trends in political parties of Pakistan. Despite, the crucial role of political parties for strengthening democracy in the country, political parties continue to be termed as oligarchical and to be criticized on account of their internal practices.  This research has primarily focused on the two major religious political parties of Pakistan including, JUI (F), and JI. This research study is qualitative. Moreover, this study is descriptive in character. The data is collected mainly through secondary sources. It has been found in this research work that, except for JI, the majority of political parties are not observing the principles of internal democracy. Political parties operate as family enterprises run by dynastical leadership and hereditary politics are in full swing in political parties of Pakistan. Political parties are highly centralized, and decisions are taken at a central level without involving the local chapters of the party.