Voting for 'None of the above'

Amidst the sense of alienation, disappointment, and unwillingness to be part of what is happening across Pakistan, I woke up on the evening of election day after being awake the whole night and binge-watching a Norwegian series, "Occupied," on Netflix. I then went to the newspaper office. As I sat down at my PC, a colleague asked, "Who did you vote for?" While yawning, I replied, "No one." He jokingly said in Balochi, "Padda Baloch, padda," meaning "wake up Baloch, wake up." I knew he meant exercising "national responsibility," but the question remained about my sense of alienation.

To address the alienation discussed here, it is mandatory to bring the "why" into the discussion. The sense of alienation among the Baloch youth from the electoral process is a long tale that dates back to the dismissal of the first elected government of the National Awami Party from Balochistan during the 70s by the Bhutto administration. While he may be remembered as a champion of democracy in the rest of Pakistan, Balochistan recalls him as a "tinpot dictator". The rest is information and experiences transferred from generation to generation. Neither the mainstream changed its behaviour, nor was the state able to convince the Baloch youth. However, mistrust, disbelief, and alienation were strengthened as each decade passed with different people in power. I, tied in all these shackles and the paradox of contradictions, am just a part of the entire discourse.

Let history be history and bring the discussion to today and now! In the times when the biggest nationalist parliamentary parties in Balochistan like the Balochistan National Party (BNP) and the National Party aligned themselves with right-wing candidates, in the times when the so-called youthful face was Jamal Raisani, in the times when Sammi Deen Mohammad and Dr Mahrang returned disappointed from the centre, no one appeared to be reflecting the narrative of the politically conscious Baloch youth. On an individual level, there was not even anyone convincing enough to get me out of my bed where I just slept and prepared for the civil services exams.

It was quite funny that the results that came out from our constituency of the National Assembly showed a turnout of 16%, according to Form 47 of the Assistant Commissioner. Isn't it funny that the elected representative of the 16% (God knows if he is in reality) will represent all of us? When such a question is raised in front of people like my colleague who earlier insisted on voting and who cast their votes themselves, blame us for it. For them, it is the mistake of those who refrained from voting and stayed back home, enjoying their solitude of alienation. But it isn’t as simple as it appears to be.

If there were to be a ‘NOTA’ (None of the above) box on the ballot paper, I might have gone out and stamped that box, but unfortunately, there wasn't one. Before, the addition of this box has remained under discussion in past elections but hasn’t been brought into the ballot paper yet. This box, if added, will not only give another option to those who feel distant from the process but will also reflect the sentiments of those who feel lost and "missing" in between this chaos and uncertainty of the mainstream. However, the powerful corridors fear that the majority in Balochistan might stamp on NOTA. However, the funniest thing currently remains that the party of the same "tinpot dictator" is leading in Balochistan.