Daily Times

Transition to real democracy has been a major challenge in Pakistan. We, the students of the 1960s and 1970s, have been fighting for this end since our school days. First we challenged the controlled and manipulated democracy of Ayub Khan, called “basic democracy” (BD). There were pitched battles on The Mall, Lahore, with the establishment goons on one side and young comrades of change on the other. After spilling blood on the streets, the mighty empire crumbled and free/fair elections were held in 1970. Unfortunately, the Quaid’s country was dismembered and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took control of what was left behind.
Transition to real democracy started. Martial law was lifted and the 1972 interim constitution promulgated, followed by the 1973 permanent document. Till 1973, the transition was on track and then Bhutto decided to dismiss the government in Balochistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (NWFP then) government resigned in protest. He ruled the entire country with a free hand till 1977 and called national elections one year ahead of time. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s popularity graph was on the rise and his party was the clear front-runner. A real democratic transition was being enacted on the pattern of India. Unfortunately, some elements in the PPP, in connivance with the election cell within the ISI, rigged the elections. The opposition (Pakistan National Alliance) came on to the streets and demanded fresh elections together with a major overhaul of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). When an agreement was about to be signed, Zia took over on July 5, 1977. Since then, every election has been manipulated (1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2008 and 2013) and the ECP remains strangulated.
Our struggle for democracy remains unfulfilled and our resistance unrecorded. When we carried our dead and injured comrades to the emergency room of Mayo Hospital, we thought that free and fair elections would accomplish the much-needed transition to real democracy. In 1970, we achieved that goal but the unnecessary rigging in the 1977 elections reversed the entire process from which we continue to suffer till today.
In 2007, the comrades of change cashed in on an opportunity and challenged the Musharraf regime; there were protests and marches. Some even turned bloody, but the pressure was kept on. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto brought the PPP into power in the 2008 vote. Good, bad or ugly, the party completed its term and there followed a constitutional transition. Elections were held in 2013 under a constitutional caretaker set up. Several important transitions took place: the president, prime minister, chief justice, chief of army staff, chairman joint chiefs of staff and speaker of the National Assembly.
Unfortunately, the Takht-e-Lahore (throne of Lahore) stands accused of rigging an election that they were winning. Once again, our persistent struggle for real democracy has been derailed. It is back to July 1977. An agreement then could have strengthened the democratic transition but instead we had to suffer Zia’s misrule for over 11 years. The comrades of change are ready to march again together with the demons, lotas, katas (opportunists) and jokers. Islamabad has never been able to survive a long march because there is a huge gap between the rulers and the ruled.
Democracy cannot survive without the sanctity of the ballot. Rigging the election ruins the credibility of the transition through the vote. Perhaps fresh elections are the only way forward. The term “mid-term” does not apply in this case. In case of a disputed process, fresh elections are held to achieve credibility. Mid-term elections are held when a government’s continuance gets complicated due to the lack of a majority of the ruling party/group in the elected house.
Rigging did take place in the 2013 elections; as such the results are disputed together with the undetermined extent of impropriety. For the sake of a democratic transition, a negotiated settlement may be possible as under: complete election audit to determine the extent of rigging, fresh elections in rigged constituencies only, electoral reforms and complete revamping of the ECP, joint monitoring as proposed in the July 1977 accord, bio-metric system of voting and the election of local bodies.
For the Sharif brothers, time is running out. A disputed election does not produce a mandate. The promise of prosperity cannot wash away the charges of rigging that have derailed the entire democratic transition. The army and Article 245 cannot save the rulers; they can only protect sensitive buildings. The PTI and its rank and file are civilised marchers, totally different to the Gullu Butts of the PML-N who attacked the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan.
Kaptaan and his chargers will surround, not attack, any government building built by their hard earned tax money. As always, the government will cease to function and business of the state will come to a standstill, totally exposing the mandate of the Sharif brothers as their rule will be confined to the PM House and its staff only.
After the march no one will ever dare to steal the people’s mandate. With electoral reforms and fresh elections, the transition to real democracy will start. For battle-hardened chargers, this may prove to be their last march. The struggle for real democracy that started on The Mall, Lahore in the 1960s may finally reach its zenith on the streets of the capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Ayub Khan built Islamabad as the new capital away from the city of the Quaid, but his spirit can no longer be kept out of it. Naya (new) Pakistan will emerge from the ashes of these jokers of democracy.

The writer is the ex-chairman Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be reached at fmaliks@hotmail.com