During the last year, we have seen immense political presence in Pakistan’s social media. It started with leaders of almost all political parties garnering an online presence to realising how to market a party as an online brand. It has not been an easy ride for these political parties because our politicians tend to be more than a bit clumsy when it comes to technology and the online crowd is pretty harsh towards anything it deems to be even slightly illogical or rude. However, during the process of forming party lines online and the practice of select groups of trolls lashing out at detractors, a pleasant new phenomenon has taken place. I have been watching this rather closely and have... more

Ever since the war on terror began, Pakistan has been sufferring from the malaise of we cant do it. Its either we can’t meet our debts or we can’t combat these militants or we can’t fly a plane straight or we can’t take care of our own (floods 2010) The point being that negativity is at a full time high and the same mantra has been repeated again and again till is become ingrained in the back of all our minds. So obviously when it was time for the elections this year the same old demons started rearing their heads. Initially it was hard enough getting all parties to agree on one leadership for the election commission but once Fakhruddin G Ebrahim was selected and put into place... more

The election in 2013 will be remembered for couple of reasons in the history of Pakistan, one of which is the high turnout. The role played by Election Commission of Pakistan in this regard has to be applauded. It was ECP, under the leadership of Honorable Justice (R) Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, which worked day and night to increase registered voters all across Pakistan. Figures show remarkable increase in registered voters as compared to the 2008 general elections i.e. an increase of 5,393,420 registered votes. NADRA played a key role in supporting ECP for increasing registered voters. Among the various interventions, NADRA, in accordance with orders from Supreme Court of Pakistan, issued... more

Ever since the world wide web came into being and governments around the world slowly but surely realized the adverse effects of communication on regimes which tend to sweep uncomfortable things under the carpet there have been efforts made to control the flow of information. The problem however is that information and attempts to block it nowadays is like water hitting porous sand. As the mediums multiply daily and the flow of data becomes quicker and quicker with the gadgets we use spreading like rabbits around our lives it has become hireto impossible to ebb this flow no matter what any one tries. In the midst of all this we have our Pakistani government which although has provisions in... more

The presidential elections are taking place in Pakistan today, another major landmark for democracy after the successful general elections held in may and the peaceful transition of power to the new government. There has been very hectic lobbying ahead of the presidential elections with Pakistan Muslim league nawaz putting forth the name of Mamnoon hussain and getting backing from around eight smaller political groups, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), National Party (NP), Qaumi Wattan Party (QWP), Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z) and Balochistan chapter of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid. The second... more

By Abbas Malik Pakistan is a country where every human being is a political expert. The entire country is extremely politicized. Whether we’re in our villages, homes, on the street, at work, on Facebook or on twitter, we are always discussing politics. This is irrespective of age, occupation or financial status. Keeping this in mind, we can safely conclude that everyone wants the country to progress and prosper in peace. Pakistan has been in a bad state for years. Governments have come and gone all saying the same thing yet no government did anything to get Pakistan out of the poor state. Prior to elections 2013, the state of the country was so poor that it made the people realize... more

The 2013 elections in Pakistan brought to the fore old faces with new promises to change the country’s fate. The days leading to the elections saw a torrent of content being shared over the Internet and social media, with Facebook and Twitter in particular, becoming an online war zone between supporters of various parties. Now that the storm has settled and the parties have taken their seats in the National Assembly, people are looking forward to a better Pakistan as it is time to act and manifest the promises into action. Over the years, social media has emerged as a Big Brother where all activities of politicians are shared over Facebook and people make comments to make the feedback... more

Historically, people in Pakistan are not very much concerned regarding electoral process in Pakistan. We are much more comfortable sitting in calmness of our homes and abusing the political system of our country for not delivering what was expected of them. So, what do you think about the political system? Do you think that the political system of our country has rotten or are you satisfied with the system? Well, if you are of any sense, you should not be satisfied of the system and would definitely want to change the system. I am not talking about changing the faces but changing the system. However, before you can change the system, you have to change your thought process and start... more

Political finance refers to all sorts of funds that are utilized for various political purposes. Such purposes may cover election campaigns, political contests, policy development by parties, and training activities and so on and so forth. The reporting of political finance involves different sources of income and particular expenditure items, for instance, offices & staff, radio, TV, advertisements via print media, campaign material and opinion polls. The effective reporting of all categories of fund raised & spent is essential for a transparent political system but unfortunately, the current scenario is totally opposite. It is very awful to realize that corruption has plagued our beloved... more

Civic education is also known as democracy education or citizen education and it broadly implies to the provision of learning experiences and knowledge to citizens in order to empower them to contribute effectively in the democratic mechanisms. The basic goal of this education is to support democratic as well as participatory governance. Civic education is manifested in many different forms including; classroom-based learning, experiential learning, informal learning & mass-media campaigns. It addresses a wide range of governance and political issues such as civic apathy/post-conflict reconciliation or corruption. In addition, it also takes social issues into account such as drug abuse,... more

Recently held elections in Pakistan saw massive criticism due to various rigging incidents in different constituencies of the country. Observers said that at least 10 percent – or 7,000 – polling stations were reportedly rigged to influence the voters. Bogus votes, pressurizing voters, in-availability of ballot boxes, papers and various other similar problems were reported in different parts of the country. Experts are of the view that overall elections went well and there is no way of making election 100 percent fool-proof, especially at this magnitude and they are right. To be honest, the influence of political parties on the general people is strong, especially in a city like... more

It was on March 16, 2013 when National Assembly of Pakistan dissolved accomplishing its five years term. This happened first time in the history of Pakistan that National Assembly & Provincial Assemblies completed constitutional duration without military interference. Then the nation geared up for general elections in May, 2013. Pakistan election results were supposed to be credible and fair. It is evident that one of the essentials for making electoral process genuine and credible is the opportunity to get resolution for the disputes and complaints pertaining to the electoral process. This opportunity is equally significant for both citizens as well as contestant political profiles. The... more

The people bear the biggest responsibility in the democratic system. As defined by the Lincoln, “Democracy is the rule of people by the people for the people.” Therefore, people are the fundamental ingredient that makes up true democracy and any democratic system without effective and intelligent involvement of people would eventually fail. Unfortunately, as we, Pakistanis are great neglector of our duties and responsibilities as a voter to select parliamentarians and keep check and balance once they enter into the parliament of Pakistan. So, are we aware of our obligations to safeguard and nurture democracy in our country? Are we aware of our role in the electoral process in Pakistan... more

Abraham Lincoln best defined the notion of democracy as: “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people”. This represents the inclusiveness of democracy that is reflective of the wishes of the masses i.e. the general public or Awam. In today’s blog we will try to analyze the role of general public in fostering democracy at the grass root level. It is ultimately the public, who is in the position to hold their representatives accountable. However, for this accountability the active participation of the citizens is imperative. Unfortunately in developing countries such as Pakistan the electoral candidates are chosen often on the pretext of how much... more

An elected representative is an individual voted for by the public to represent their interests. It can also be termed as a person chosen or appointed to act or speak for someone who has authorized him to do so by putting his trust in him through a legally defined process. In political terms, elected representatives are individuals authorized by a certain group of people through a vote to act, speak, legislate and execute certain policies on their behalf in a legislative and executive capacity to pursue a predefined political agenda on the basis of which they were elected by the people. In a modern day democracy, the public representatives elected by the people are generally allied with a... more