Before we ask how someone is a legitimate leader, we must ask, what do we define as legitimate? Is this definition of a fairly commonplace word, the same across as contexts and all people. We all don't see eye to eye in everyday activities, therefore can we really say we define legitimate the same too? It is because of this difference of opinion that we see conflicting groups of people at times of protest and revolution.
Let's take the example of Egypt. A year of so after the "Arab Spring", protests erupted again at Tahrir Square. This time, calls were made to remove Muhammad Morsi from power, Morsi's mistake? To constitutionally assign more powers to the seat of The President of Egypt. A certain percentage of people saw this as putting the legitimacy of his rule into question and therefore took to the streets to force Morsi to leave. Due to better organisation and attention to their protests, these people were successful in removing Morsi from power. However the media ignored (initially) the sheer magnitude of people who supported his rule and saw it as legitimate. I cannot recall the exact numbers, but the percentage of those with and those against were very close. How has the concept of democracy then kept the interests of all parties involved. Yes, the majority won, but it was the slightest of majorities, thereby leaving an almost equally large minority unhappy.
In a more local example, Nawaz Sharif survived a very threat to the legitimacy of his power from the PTI. When Imran Khan says that Pakistan doesn't want to see the PMLN in power, he is greatly exaggerating the situation. The PTI enjoys the backing of the youth, the people of KPK as well as citizens residing in cities like Karachi etc. However is this all truly representative of the entire demographic that is Pakistan? Would forming a judgment of the legitimacy of the PMLN rule of a small, more prominent, section of society be justified and thereby promote the cause and soul concept democracy.
Let's take the example of Egypt. A year of so after the "Arab Spring", protests erupted again at Tahrir Square. This time, calls were made to remove Muhammad Morsi from power, Morsi's mistake? To constitutionally assign more powers to the seat of The President of Egypt. A certain percentage of people saw this as putting the legitimacy of his rule into question and therefore took to the streets to force Morsi to leave. Due to better organisation and attention to their protests, these people were successful in removing Morsi from power. However the media ignored (initially) the sheer magnitude of people who supported his rule and saw it as legitimate. I cannot recall the exact numbers, but the percentage of those with and those against were very close. How has the concept of democracy then kept the interests of all parties involved. Yes, the majority won, but it was the slightest of majorities, thereby leaving an almost equally large minority unhappy.
In a more local example, Nawaz Sharif survived a very threat to the legitimacy of his power from the PTI. When Imran Khan says that Pakistan doesn't want to see the PMLN in power, he is greatly exaggerating the situation. The PTI enjoys the backing of the youth, the people of KPK as well as citizens residing in cities like Karachi etc. However is this all truly representative of the entire demographic that is Pakistan? Would forming a judgment of the legitimacy of the PMLN rule of a small, more prominent, section of society be justified and thereby promote the cause and soul concept democracy.
1 comment:
It is almost always the case that rival politicians use sweeping statements against each other just to gain momentum and keep their fire burning. If Imran Khan makes the statements such as "Pakistan doesn't want to see PML-N in power," he would never say that only my supporters dont want to see him in power. Its human nature to exaggerate support to solidify their claims. But I agree with you that Imran Khan challenged the legitimacy of Nawaz Sharif's power, but I think it was through other means such as the uproar against rigging etc.
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