A win for the status quo

The first phase of the long-delayed local government polls has delivered what amounts to more of the same. Millions of voters have decided not to vote for change, and in Punjab the PML-N called the shots whilst in Sindh, and to the surprise of some, the PPP made a strong showing in its heartland. The loser everywhere was the PTI. Whatever traction the PTI thought it had on the basis of street rallies and dharnas did not translate into an ‘X’ in the box on polling day, and the party may well have reached its high water mark. Voters are either unimpressed with the showing of the PTI in both parliament and in governance, or simply unwilling to change horses, preferring the devils they know rather than whatever devilry the PTI may have to offer.



The stranglehold of elected feudalism and dynastic politics has again trumped change, and whatever hopes there may have been that anything was going to be any different after the local government polls has quickly faded. The mainstream parties had fought the devolution of power to the grass roots from the outset, and the real leverage remains with the party apparatchiks at the top of the pile. Independent candidates did not fare as well as they could have wherever they were fielded.

The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), which was monitoring the polls, has reported widespread irregularities in both provinces, ranging from certain polling stations opening late to a political presence inside the polling stations in an effort to influence voters. That said, the polls were relatively peaceful and caveats aside FAFEN opines that though far from perfect the electoral process continues to improve. Once again the Election Commission of Pakistan is singled out for criticism — principally that it is weak and fails to enforce electoral protocols. With the next round of elections scheduled for November 30, the Pakistani flirtation with a hobbled democratic process continues. Local government elections are the seed-bed in which political futures are sown. On the showing of October 31, there will be little change in the political crop a decade hence.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2015.

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