Mohammad Jamil
Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people, and exercised through their elected representatives under a free electoral system. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other leaders of the PML-N talk about respect to the vote, but they do not show any respect to the voter as they fail to fulfill promises made by them to the voter. They want that they should not be questioned about their poor performance or involvement in corruption, as people will subject them to accountability at the time of elections. In Pakistan there are three pillars of the state – Parliament, Executive and Judiciary, and their roles have been defined in the Constitution. Supreme Court has the right to interpret the constitution and also has to ensure that the government does not deprive the people of their fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
We hardly listen to the promises of good governance, participatory democracy or end of corruption. It would indeed be a welcome development if participatory democracy along with good governance becomes a key issue in the upcoming general election, and political parties outline their commitment to them in their respective manifestoes. It would immensely serve to restore the dwindling faith in the present system. However, people should use the vote judiciously and should not vote for the parties or candidates who have brought the country to the present pass. Today, economic disparity, socio-economic injustice, political instability, internecine conflicts between politicians, rampant corruption, rising crime rate, energy crisis and ineffective criminal justice system especially in lower courts are the challenges facing the nation, which need to be met through unity and harmony between the pillars of the state, and not through bickering and debating.
For seven decades, majority of the people are living in the gloom of stalking poverty, squalor, want and deprivation. They have weathered storms and suffered from human-made calamities like terrorism. But they are neither in focus of the ruling elite nor by the anchorpersons, analysts and intellectuals who more often than not highlight the elites’ grouses rather than highlighting the grievances of the downtrodden. One would hardly listen to the discussion on finding ways and means to improve the lives of teeming millions living in abject poverty. After three weeks, voters will once again get a chance to vote at the polling stations for electing their representatives to the national and provincial assemblies. As for the common voter, he is not optimistic about a perceptible change for the better, and at the same time is seriously concerned about ever-rising prices of essential commodities.
PML-N has already started creating about the credibility of the elections taking the plea that their members and candidates are being pressurized to return the tickets. But the party leaders should do a bit of introspection to know that they are leaving the party because of the narrative of disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is demonizing the judiciary and military and hold them responsible for his disqualification and cases initiated by the NAB after release of Panama Papers on accusation of money laundering and possessing assets much beyond the income. Anyhow, perfect elections were seldom held even in established democracies, and political actors must learn to accept election results with grace and look to the future. Change has got to come not through revolution but through transition. Political issues can be resolved through Parliament and not in the streets, and any effort to create chaos would be met with force of the state.
All major political parties are participating in the elections, but personal agendas of political leaders have eclipsed the manifestos of their parties with economics virtually relegated to the background. Rigging allegations abounds but this time it is squarely related to their electoral performance. It is heartening that that assemblies have complete their terms perhaps second time after transition, but the performance of the assemblies has been lackluster, as the government did not pass any legislation for the welfare of the masses, and opposition for its part continued with desk-thumping and shouting bouts. Unfortunately, members of both sides of the divide do not have to their credit any legislation to alleviate the miseries of the people, and the only ‘achievement’ both the ruling and opposition parties could claim was their unity in upward revision of their emoluments, perks and privileges.
