KARACHI (National Times) Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that democracy is not merely a system of governance but the right of the people to elect their representatives, determine their future and hold those in power accountable.

According to a press release issued by the Bilawal House Media Cell, the PPP chairman, in his message on the occasion of International Day of Democracy, said that despite repeated attempts to extinguish the flame of democracy in the country, the sacrifices of numerous democratic forces and political workers, including those associated with the Pakistan Peoples Party, had kept it alive.

He said democracy was the legacy of the martyrs and a promise to future generations. Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto devoted their lives to empowering the people and strengthening democratic institutions. Their struggle teaches us that no force can silence the voice of the people forever.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reaffirmed that the PPP would continue its struggle for democracy, constitutional supremacy, social justice, equality and the rights of the people. He urged all democratic forces to remain united against authoritarian thinking and protect the Constitution, Parliament and the people’s right to elect their representatives.

He pointed out that Pakistan’s history bears witness to repeated attempts by undemocratic forces, strengthened by external conspiracies, to derail the democratic process and deprive the people of their fundamental rights.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari urged the nation to renew its commitment to protecting the democratic legacy of the martyrs on International Day of Democracy. He called for ensuring that the people’s mandate always remains supreme and that democracy is never again sacrificed at the altar of a struggle for power.