Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
As the election dust settles and political landscape becomes clearer, allegations and counter allegations of rigging are cropping up. Some parties are demanding recount of votes in certain constituencies while some want fresh polls to be held in Karachi and some other parts of the country. Media spotlight on instances of rigging has further intensified the debate whether elections were held in a free, fair and transparent manner or was there any manipulation to undermine the public mandate.
These were certainly most interesting and unpredictable elections in the country’s history. The political observers were reluctant to pass their final verdict regarding contesting parties’ expected strength in legislatures. The reason that explained the suspense and high drama associated with the polls was emergence of the third political force in the country i.e. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.
Presence of media was also an important factor in forming people’s choices at the hustings. Given deep-rooted penetration of broadcast media, it was expected that electorate’s voting preferences will be driven by an altogether different set of priorities in the urban centres thereby diluting the influence of biradri, caste and other narrow interests.
For the first time, there was a general feeling that if people stay away from the political process and do not vote, they have no right to lament the bad governance and acute crises that plague the country. The educated class also realized that their votes are their power and they have to use it to send the real representatives to the parliament.
As regards the huge turnout, especially in urban centres, most political pundits agree that the rise of Imran Khan’s PTI, as the third force, was the major factor behind making people vote. Traditionally, most educated people have been apathetic towards electoral process. They preferred discussing the ills of the system in their drawing rooms, never stepping out of their comfort zones to brave the sweltering heat and being queued up at the polling stations. Their lack of participation in the political process is evident in the data of all the previous elections.
Another big outcome of this whole practice is that the people of Pakistan have put their seal of approval on the power of ballot thereby rejecting the bullet. These elections will be remembered as a watershed in the country’s march towards stable democracy.
The huge Imran-inspired turnout brings to light the sad fact that our political elite never tried to reach out this segment of the society to make them participate in the political system. With every new election, they distanced themselves from the electoral process.
Despite the fact that it couldn’t bag the seats as per expectations, the PTI, under the leadership of Imran Khan, inspired the middle class, youth and women alike, to come to cast their votes. He vigorously led his campaign and attracted mammoth crowds which made him a ray of hope for many Pakistanis.
When it comes to results, PTI emerged as the third largest political force in the parliament and bagged the second largest number of popular vote. It ended up being the largest party in KPK and is all set to form its government in the restive province. This is a huge achievement when seen in the backdrop of traditional and dynastic system of Pakistan politics.
Carving out a niche in such political environment is a testimony to the leadership qualities and tenacity of Imran Khan and his workers who stayed the course all along these years against all odds. He now has an opportunity to set up a model government in KP and market his achievements there in the next general elections. Being second in competition to PML-N that is an old political force, present on the electoral scene for the last 30 years, is a big achievement inn itself.
Khan’s political struggle, that spans 17 years, bore fruit when the hundreds of thousands of energetic voters turned up to vote. Irrespective of the number of seats in parliament, Pakistan’s nascent democracy definitely gets a boost and is going to be matured with the public ownership of the political process.
Imran Khan’s slogan of ‘New Pakistan’ will continue to inspire people with the passage of time. The popular support for his slogan augurs well for this betrayed nation. It heralds the birth of a political party with huge countrywide following and a big vote bank. PTI cut across all narrow affiliations and created a belief in the ideals for the accomplishment of which this country was established.
However, PTI should analyse and contemplate the causes and factors that caused its defeat, especially in constituencies where it came close second. Electoral politics is a science and half of the battle is won or lost on then basis of political parties’ performance on the polling day. The coming five years present a golden opportunity to PTI and its leadership to broaden its base, reach out to people in rural and far-flung areas and establish an effective political setup.
Another great challenge before PTI leadership is channeling the exuberance and élan of our politically charged youth and save their energies. They need to make them aware that change is not possible in a single election. It is a process, which has well begun. If October 30, 2011 heralded the emergence of Imran Khan as serious contender, election 2013 heralds PTI’s rise as an electoral force. By voting in millions, the people of Pakistan have shown that they believe in the slogan of change and are ready to play their role. It’s up to Imran Khan and PTI leadership now that how they live up to the expectations of Pakistanis.
