Elections 2024: Accept defeat and give democracy a chance

The General Elections 2024 have exposed poles and fault lines quite blatantly. The voter turnout was record-breaking, and despite all odds,the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) endorsed independent candidates secured massive votes and were in a position to form central aswell as provincial governments without going into any alliances. For the first time in the recent past, Pakistan was heading towards the formation of a strong government instead of a hung parliament, but then the entire scenario changed.

February 9th was a total carnage. Winners were turned into losers even though the proceedings of February 8th were otherwise. Form 45 was a true reflection of the people’s mandate while form 47 told a different story in most of the constituencies. There was wide spread rigging and arm-twisting across the country. The results are still awaited, giving credence to the general perception that the results are further being manipulated. In any democratic country, this move always ends up in a disaster. Come what may, the verdict given by the voters has to be respected before things turn ugly and institutions of repute and credibility are dragged into the quagmire of allegations.

The massive voter turnout in the recent elections was more of a resistance movement. After reducing a political party to pulp by putting it’s party founder behind bars, by taking away it’s election symbol and by using state muscle to silence the workers and candidates, by refusing to allow them any kind of election-related campaigning, this turnout was a wakeup call for the concerned quarters. They need to align themselves with the will and the wishes of the public. This election has turned our system into a laughing stock for the international community. For the first time in history, statements have been issued by the international community showing concern regarding wide scale rigging in the elections. Many foreign news outlets have openly termed these elections as rigged and engineered.

At a time when our enemies are looking for reasons to weaken our country, when foreign hostile agencies are working 24/7 to create a divide between the people and our armed forces, the plot has to be sabotaged by bringing the people closer to the saviors of this country. Our armed forces have given tremendous sacrifices for this country and their respect is mandatory for every single citizen of Pakistan.

It’s about time our decision makers get their act right and let PTI form the government based on the votes they bagged. Democracy has to be given a chance if this country has to be stabilised. We cannot afford any further adventures and experimentations. If the people have shown their trust in a certain party and it’s leader, in the true spirit of democracy, let them take charge and remove any and all uncertainty that prevails.