Daily Times

The results of the May 2013 elections received a mixed reaction across Pakistan, as the emphatic victory achieved by Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was greeted with an equal measure of jubilance and contempt across the country. Almost immediately after the results were announced, people began to cry foul, alleging that the elections had been rigged and that the outcome was a result of rampant cheating. The lack of evidence to support such claims was mostly overlooked. Despite these question marks, the completion of these elections is a milestone in Pakistani history, and a platform for progress and advancement.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) began to gain momentum, especially on social networking websites and among young Pakistanis. Mr Khan’s following is akin to a cult of personality, with many of his supporters claiming that he is best suited to rule simply because he offers something new. His term as an MNA during the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid government was totally ignored. Indeed, during Mr Khan’s tenure as a member of the National Assembly, he did not author or sponsor a single bill, peculiar behaviour for such a strong advocate of change. Furthermore, he voted against a women’s rights bill and voted for the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to be Pakistan’s president. In addition, many of Mr Khan’s policies are fanciful and impractical, such as his plan for education reform. He never explained how exactly he plans to introduce a single curriculum in a country with myriad sectarian, religious, geographic and linguistic divides.

The ‘clean sweep’ Mr Khan predicted did not happen, and the ‘tsunami’ that so many PTI supporters were sure was coming turned out to be a false alarm, but the party’s rise from relative obscurity is a tremendous achievement, one that will surely be built upon in the coming years, which bodes well for the country’s political future. The reaction of the PTI and its supporters to the election results, however, does not. Normally, the losing party in any election concedes defeat and commits to working with the victor for the betterment of the country, which is, after all what everyone wants. No such statement was forthcoming from Mr Khan. In fact, when he did address the nation, he only promised to issue a ‘white paper’ against vote rigging. This was a startlingly immature and disappointing reaction.

The PTI supporters followed suit all over the country, taking to the streets and the Internet on the basis of dubious evidence to protest their party’s ‘unfair defeat’. On Facebook and Twitter, those who voted for the PML-N were dubbed ‘jaahil’(ignorant) and ‘paindu’ (villager) for not allowing ‘tabdeeli’(change) to come in Pakistan. What everyone seems to be blissfully unaware of is that change has come; the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government has been voted out and the PML-N government has been voted in. It is just unacceptable to supporters of the PTI that their change has not come; that since they voted for something, everyone else must have too. Mr Khan lost NA-122 to Ayaz Sadiq because of ‘rigging’ or ‘feudalism’, not because of the work that Mr Sadiq has done for the people of his constituency. This reaction cannot be classified as anything other than shameful. Democracy is not just about bringing about change through one’s own votes; it is about respecting the decisions of the majority and the political opinion of others. When the PTI supporters protest against vote rigging it is a fight for justice, but when the PML-N supporters do the same, they are guilty of ‘ghunda gardi’ (hooliganism). Double standards are rampant.

Despite widespread (and insubstantial) allegations of vote rigging, the 2013 elections may just have been the fairest in Pakistan’s history. All the political parties approved the head of the Election Commission, and the caretaker governments in all four provinces were non-partisan. It is only in areas of Karachi that damning evidence of rigging has emerged. After decades of intermittent military rule, Pakistan is finally on the road to democracy.

Objectively and realistically, this is the best possible election result. The Nawaz league was never going to lose its established power base and support, and its re-election to the federal government may not be the calamity that many imagine it will be. After all, there were several bright moves made by their government during the 1990s, and whatever happens, they cannot possibly be more inept than the previous one. Hopefully, they will be able to establish some semblance of stability and revitalise the economy after what was one of Pakistan’s lowest points under the PPP. The PTI has gained a respectable number of seats, and will be able to learn and build until the next elections come around. Democracy has not been totally unsuccessful; many seasoned politicians including Raja Pervez Ashraf and Ghulam Ahmed Bilour have not been re-elected, indicating a change in the status quo.

Pakistan has just completed the first democratic transition in its history, and there is great cause for optimism. The PTI will form the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, gaining valuable experience. It is a tough test, one that Mr Khan will surely relish. The tsunami will be back again in 2018, reinforced by a swarm of young voters, hopefully with more grounded ideas. The Nawaz league has an opportunity to redeem itself in the eyes of many Pakistanis over the next five years, and it will be interesting to see if they can alleviate the horde of issues the country faces. Regardless of the short-term outcomes, the future is bright.

The writer is a freelance columnist