Irrespective of the language, culture or social norms of a specific region, there are certain integral values that remain unchanged across borders and divides. For instance, nowhere in the world have we ever seen masses demanding widespread anarchy and disorder; on the contrary, world over people want a functional system of governance to maintain rule of law in the society. Accordingly, it seems safe to assume that to see order and stability in the society is something that is inherent to all human beings. It is this integral need that propels us all to rally behind political leaders, cheer for them during processions and vote for them during elections – all the time hoping that the... more

We Pakistanis are always discussing two things; cricket and politics. If any of us does not discuss these topics at least once every two days, I start doubting their nationality. So, following and propagating the Pakistani culture, we friends were having a heated debate on the current political situation in the country. And of course, following another national tradition, we were criticizing the class of rulers we elect by casting our votes. We started discussing the individuals we had voted or not voted for in our respective constituencies. We dissected their rise in politics to their family backgrounds, their statements, so on and so forth. And our heated debate of “one up man ship”... more

In 2000, a new citizen registration system was introduced in Pakistan. The new process was handled by a new authority named NADRA. This came as a breath of fresh air, modernization of the most basic of needs of any citizen: their National Identity Card. Our old system was severely outdated, with no readable or computerized biometric record and I am not sure even if it was centralized. The new system, no doubt, sorted a lot of data maintenance issues. But, as one of the most civilly “responsible” nation that we are, I am sure we still have citizens out there who have yet to get their new ID cards. Although, all of our legal documentation requires the NADRA ids, but still. The process... more

The transparency of spending during the election campaign is one of the most crucial factors which ensure transparency of elections and credibility of its results. It especially becomes tricky when you consider spending of the incumbent government. The system has to ensure that the government in power is not using its influence to manipulate elections of using official resources in terms of money and machinery to sway votes in its favor. There is a stringent clause in the code of conduct chalked out by the election commission of Pakistan in this regard: “Issuing of advertisements at the cost of public exchequer in the newspapers and other media and misuse of official mass media during... more

Armed with my vote registration information and electoral information, which I got from sending my CNIC number to 8300, I ventured to the polling station to cast my vote. With a quicker heart beat and suspense that who will win the elections, I walked with my head held high, sure in my heart that my vote will shape the future of my country. The whole country was engulfed in the colors of elections. Every street was plastered (sometimes very untastefully) with election slogans; candidates profile pictures and banners displaying their past achievements trying to influence the voter to give their vote to them. I was welcomed by a long queue, of at least 200 people waiting to poll their... more

Being an avid Twitter user, I usually get my scoop of the hottest discussion topics in Pakistan from the top trends that do rounds on this micro-blogging website. One trend that has been popping up every now and then recently is #ImplementBiometricSystem. In all honesty for the first few days I was too lazy to search out what this trend actually signified – I mean I had a working understanding of what biometric system was but there was little understanding when it came to introducing it for the electoral process. However, eventually my curiosity got the best of me and I finally went to Reverand Google for some answers and what I discovered is worth sharing with you! Now it’s not... more

Democracy in Pakistan has historically witnessed multiple deaths in infancy by repeated military takeovers due to a number of reasons. The dilemma of failure of political leadership in initial years to take prompt decisions regarding the type of government and powers of federating units was the first act of weakening the foundations of a strong democratic setup in Pakistan. By delaying these decisions and not holding elections, which is the very foundation of democracy, the initial political leadership undermined establishment of democratic culture and norms by attempts to continue in power by any means which also included obtaining support of military establishment by giving it a formal... more

As we hear a lot about local government elections to be held this year, it is important to understand essentials of an effective local government. Local government means devolution of power at the local level. In other words, there is decentralization of power and power is shifted from the centre to the local level. The assumption is that locals will be able to take decisions about local matters after local governments are put in place after the elections. If it happens, it will be a gigantic step towards democracy. Will provincial governments share powers with districts? After the 18th Amendment in the constitution, provinces have greater administrative autonomy. Furthermore, the provinces... more

The rigging in elections has become the popular notion more than that of democracy. Everybody from youth to old, men, women, educated, less educated, and illiterate persons all talk about rigging whenever the debate at hand is election or democracy. The rigging is so common a conviction that citizens seems disillusioned as well as disenchanted with democracy. The major argument goes what is the need of voting when our vote does not count and someone steel our mandate through rigging? Citizens’ indictment about elections rigging is quite justified however citizens’ persistent argument of electoral process as vulnerable to fraud is erroneous on the ground that any inconsistency in... more

Participation in election is an important phenomenon for the destiny of any country or for the lives of citizen inhabiting there, because through this process political parties succeed power and authority to rule public and make decisions for their lives. It means political system combined with electoral mechanisms determines the public way of living or thoughts for their life decisions. This notion raises many general and common queries which definitely come into many minds. Other perspectives of this idea can be like that “Are our life decisions are taken by others? Or government controls the life matters of its citizens. Are decisions taken by government are accordance with people... more

I visited my university a few days ago and while passing alongside the cafeteria, I decided to step in and have a cup of tea. While I sat there enjoying the beverage; I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation of young students sitting on the table opposite to mine. The topic was politics and all of the youngsters seemed obviously disgruntled. “What use is all this voting and elections?” One of them said. “It’s just a ploy to fool the citizens”, another responded angrily. The emotionally charged discussion of the students continued as I stood up and, introducing myself, asked the students if I could join them, which they happily agreed to. After telling them about the good... more

I often hear people say: ‘what has democracy given us’? It is followed by a tirade against corrupt politicians. The issues and the problems that an average Pakistani faces on daily basis are not because the democracy but because of the lack of democracy. The story of Pakistani democracy is basically a short sentence of democracy punctuated with lots of dictatorships. Furthermore, democracy has not taken root in the country. Even political parties are still in the process of becoming democratic. For example, representatives that we elect for federal and provincial assemblies are supposed to carry out legislative business. However, these members of federal and provincial assemblies get... more

Pakistan’s outgoing National Assembly of 2013 was the first one in the country’s history to complete a full five-year term. This elected assembly was also exceptional in another aspect. The activity of female parliamentarians was astounding. 20 out of 53 private members’ bills during the government’s tenure were moved by women, and women outperformed their male counterparts in terms of formal interventions during parliamentary proceedings Although I am not a parliamentarian or someone close to the house, but, as a keen student of media and politics, I often noticed that women parliamentarians went the extra mile and put in the extra effort to prove their worth. Interestingly, even... more

Though democracy is not all about elections, but still the electoral process has extreme significance in a democratic system as it is the cornerstone of superstructure of democracy. The electoral process gives right to individuals to elect their representatives who ultimately influence political foundation and direction of a government. In any civilized setup, while using the term elections, transparency of the whole process i.e., the same being free and fair is by default covered in the meaning of the term election. This has also been accepted as fundamental human right in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights which sates in its Article 21 that "Everyone has the right to take... more

The other day, I had some free time on hand. Browsing aimlessly on the internet, a link to the Election Commission of Pakistan website presented itself and I, for reasons unknown, clicked on it. There was a link of code of conduct for elections. That intrigued me and I decided to read through more than 40 salient points in the document. I have to say, that was an interesting read. There were points on even the sizes of promotional material candidates have to use. There was a point which particularly caught my attention. 1. Criticism of other political parties and opponent candidates shall be confined to their policies and programmes, past record and work. Parties and candidates shall... more