Hollow shell of democracy

Every few years, Pakistan goes through the ritual of elections, and every few years, the process leaves behind deeper scars than the ones it set out to heal. The latest controversy surrounding the unreleased Commonwealth Observer Group report is but another reminder of how hollow our democratic edifice has become. As per the leaked copies of the report obtained by media outlets, the February 2024 elections were not elections in the spirit of democracy, but a carefully managed exercise marred by "systemic rigging, institutional bias and deliberate targeting" of one political party and its leader.

Reports suggest that the findings were so damning they risked undermining the very legitimacy of Pakistan's electoral process on the global stage. Here, PTI sees opportunity. With its leader incarcerated, its candidates disqualified and its organisational structure under siege, the party believes international scrutiny could validate its claims of systemic rigging and institutional bias. Yet this strategy carries costs. States do not take kindly to political actors washing their disputes before a foreign audience. Pakistan's democracy has never truly been allowed to stand on its own feet. From the beginning, hidden hands have been both architect and arbiter. Today, the PTI cries foul; yesterday, it was the PML-N; and tomorrow it may well be another party.

If the leaked report is indeed authentic, Pakistan's global image stands to take a blow from which recovery will not be easy. Pakistan risks being seen as a serial violator of its own constitutional promises. This perception weakens Islamabad's voice on international platforms as well as among its investors and global partners. Most perilous, however, is the impact on the domestic polity. If citizens see that the world itself considers their elections fraudulent, faith in the ballot may collapse entirely.