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'''Basic democracy''' was a governance system implemented by [[Ayub Khan]] government in Pakistan in 1959 when the Basic Democracies Order was promulgated.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1962.tb00584.x|title=Basic Democracies as Institutions of Local Government in Pakistan—I1|date=October 3, 1962|journal=Public Administration and Development|volume=1|issue=4|pages=239–246|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1002/j.1099-162X.1962.tb00584.x |last1=Habib-Ur-Rahman }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author=R. L. Mellema|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/as/article-abstract/1/6/10/19760/The-Basic-Democracies-System-in-Pakistan?redirectedFrom=PDF|title=The Basic Democracies System in Pakistan|journal=Asian Survey|year=1961}}</ref>

==Background==
In 1958, [[Ayub Khan]] assumed power in Pakistan, asserting that Western-style [[constitution]]s were unsuitable for [[developing country|developing countries]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/archive/6872464/pakistan-the-basic-democrats/|title=Pakistan: The Basic Democrats|date=11 May 1962|magazine=Time}}</ref> He banned [[political party|political parties]], blaming them for [[political instability]], and introduced a system of basic democracy in 1960 to balance [[authoritarianism|authoritarian rule]] with democratic principles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Ayub-Khan|title=Mohammed Ayub Khan|website=Britannica}}</ref>

The basic democracy system had elements of existing [[local governance]] structures such as traditional village councils, known as [[panchayat]]s in [[Punjab]] and union boards in [[Bengal]], which were initially referred to as union panchayats by Ayub Khan in September 1959.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48505506|title=Ayub Khan's Basic Democracy and Political Continuity in Contemporary Pakistan|author=Mukherjee, Kunal|year=2016|journal=India Quarterly|volume=72|issue=3|pages=268–277|doi=10.1177/0974928416656498 |jstor=48505506 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> The term was later changed to 'union councils' during the Governors' Conference in Dhaka on September 2, 1959, and subsequently used in the Basic Democracies Law.<ref name="auto"/>

==Basic democracy system==
Organized into five hierarchical tiers, the system commenced with union councils in rural areas and town committees in urban areas, followed by thana councils in [[East Pakistan]] and tehsil councils in [[West Pakistan]], then district councils, divisional councils, and concluded with provincial development advisory councils.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Basic_Democracies|title=Basic Democracies |website=[[Banglapedia]]}}</ref>

===Union council===
The foundational unit, the union council, typically included a chairman and around 15 members, with two-thirds elected and one-third nominated by the government, a practice abolished in 1962.<ref name="auto1"/>

===Tehsil council===
The thana or tehsil councils represented the second tier and were composed of chairmen from lower councils, official members from various departments, and were chaired by the Sub-Divisional Officer or a tehsildar in West Pakistan.<ref name="auto1"/> 

===District council===
The district councils, forming the third tier, consisted of up to 40 members, including the chairmen of the thana councils and other officials, with the district magistrate serving as chairman.<ref name="auto1"/>

===Divisional council===
The divisional councils, forming the fourth tier, functioned primarily as advisory bodies, led by the Divisional Commissioner and including members from the district councils and government departments.<ref name="auto1"/>

===Provincial development advisory council===
The provincial development advisory councils, which were similar in composition to the divisional councils, were eventually replaced by provincial assemblies.<ref name="auto1"/>

==References==
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[[Category:Types of democracy]]
[[Category:History of the government of Pakistan]]