A general selection?

Though the title of the piece might seem like an oxymoron to what has been scheduled for February 8, 2024, the electoral history of Pakistan hardly disapproves of it as such. Whether this episode is going to be different is more of a matter of time than debate. However, the electoral dramas of 1970 and afterwards show that Pakistan’s democracy deals more with drawing room “deals’ than genuine public aspirations. An appraisal of our political history hardly offers promising hopes. Nevertheless, optimism still survives in the hearts and minds of many.

Following a protracted and strenuous political and institutional battle for power, the ECP has finally come up with a schedule for the general election. Notwithstanding the constitutionality of the scheduled practice, as it rarely matters in our country, it has given hope to the desperate nation. However, the battle is going to be an interestingly tough test this time, particularly for the ill-advised political capital of the erstwhile PDM as well as the establishment.

The parties comprising the erstwhile PDM have practically played realpolitik – antithetical to democratic norms. Historically, the mainstream dynastical political parties that propped up to power in engineered elections have repeatedly but successfully traded their ideological principles for the perpetuation of their power. Due to their repeated betrayals of promises, all the parties comprising PDM have nearly lost public trust and support. They are now left with nothing to take credit for in the public sphere except the wreckage of hope and the agonies of people. They are rightly convinced that an elevator rooted in the public would hardly help them ascend to the echelons of power. Nevertheless, they still expect a seat on the escalator that pulled them to power for decades. Their repeated calls for level playing field are an urge for their lifting to power at the utter disregard for public choice.

Since the institutions are subservient and responsible to the people alone, making people the real architect of the social contract is the direst demand of time and democracy. This is only possible in free and fair elections preceded by a true level playing field for everyone. Conversely, raising a disabled and hung parliament packed with traditional electable or symbolic government would keep public lives hanging in the balance.

The fact that the establishment tends to exclusively call the political shots is undeniable. However, its entrenched political stakes stand in contravention of democratic norms and bode ill for its reputation as an institution. A complete shift of power to the public sphere might not happen immediately, but given the dynamics of modern times and public weariness from dynastic and electable political culture, this is hardly going to be too much of a distant reality.

The question arises: which party enjoys the overwhelming public support to rise to power? As ground realities suggest, PTI outperforms other parties. A fair play would afford PTI a landslide victory with unprecedented volunteer public support. This popular mandate would help unleash the institutional reforms necessary to put the country back on track. But would it be able, or more appropriately, be allowed, to form a government with a clear majority? The answer, for now, does not appear that promising. The pre-poll rigging and an unprecedented crackdown on the PTI’s leadership raise serious questions about the credibility of electoral practices and the future of the country.

The evolving demographic and socioeconomic imperatives within Pakistan and the potential global strategic transition demand paradigmatic electoral and political transparency. The upcoming elections offer a much-needed opportunity to reform our minds, institutions and society at large. Therefore, the traditional power brokers need to acknowledge that public institutions owe their authority, sanctity and responsibility to the public alone. Unless the powers that be recognise that its political capital, dynastic political culture and engineered electoral outcomes are causes of the problem rather than solutions, the country will remain in the clutches of chaos.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2023.

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