Daily Times

The nation feels relieved with the smooth conduct of general elections across Pakistan. After peaceful polling in a congenial environment, the much-awaited results have started pouring in. A smooth transition from the voting phase to the counting process has practically beaten all those quarters who wanted to push Pakistan into the dark pits of chaos. The election commission is also determined to announce the results without delay.

A huge number of 128 million registered voters is enough to gauge the scope of responsibility assigned to the Election Commission of Pakistan. The complexity of this sensitive task was further multiplied by the terrorism surge in KP and Balochistan provinces. Rumour mills were working 24/7 to spread uncertainty about the smooth conduct of elections countrywide. Ironically, shadowy keyboard warriors of various brands vigorously exploited terrorist attacks to point fingers at the intentions of state institutions amid the timely conduct of elections. Such baseless social media propagation served the purpose of those terrorist groups who do not want to see Pakistan back on track to stability.

The Election Commission of Pakistan rightly deserves appreciation for accomplishing the polling phase on 8th February under a highly challenging environment. Pakistan is ranked the 5th largest democracy in the world. Common Wealth Observer group has expressed satisfaction with the smooth and transparent conduct of polling. This endorsement from an internationally renowned organization has effectively busted the bleak rumours tainting the credibility of the electoral process.

A total of 452 representatives of international media, NGOs and delegations are presently in Pakistan to independently monitor the election process. Representatives of international media and election watchdogs have been freely observing the electoral process in the federal capital, Lahore, Karachi and surrounding areas. A total of 17816 candidates entered the election arena including 12695 for provincial assemblies and 5121 for National Assembly.

Huge number of 128 million registered voters is enough to gauge the scope of responsibility assigned to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Votes were cast simultaneously across Pakistan in more than 90000 polling stations. As a whole, the most challenging phase of polling has finished flawlessly with very few complaints. The Election Commission promptly responded and solved the minor irritants without hindering the polling process. Security of the polling staff, voters, candidates and the general public was an important factor on polling day due to the alarming recurrence of terrorist attacks by hardcore militant groups.

To ensure safety on polling day, 6,48,000 security personnel including 1,37,000 military soldiers were deployed. This massive deployment proved beneficial as the polling process finished without interruption from terrorist groups. Closure of mobile service during the polling process was imposed as a time-tested security measure. This appropriate step deprived the terrorist groups of D-day communication before the execution of any IED blasts and terrorist attacks. Undue hype on the closure of mobile service seems hollow because the internet remained fully functional via broadband. A purely security-specific outage of mobile service must not be viewed with a political lens.

The voting process is not at all reliant on mobile phone service. Tracing of polling stations was very much possible via broadband internet services. Responsible voters never pended this activity for polling day and already obtained requisite details through available sources. Besides this, all political parties and candidates were providing the required details during door-to-door campaigns.

Out-of-proportion criticism of a very effective security measure seems part of a campaign fabricated to discredit the transparent electoral process. The rigging mantra is an unpleasant part of our unimpressive political culture. However, fabricated venomous social media campaigns played a key role in spoiling the political environment ahead of elections. The Election Commission of Pakistan, being a constitutional autonomous institution, had been in the cross-hairs of well-known political jugglers. Fortunately, the election commission remained steadfast and focused on the accomplishment of a very sensitive constitutional responsibility.

The impressively smooth, peaceful and transparent polling show on 8th February is major evidence of the nation’s commitment to democracy. Despite traditional high-temperature election campaigns, supporters of all parties freely cast their votes. Polling day passed peacefully without violent clashes among the supporters of opponent groups. Co-existence displayed, despite political or ideological differences, on polling day by the nation has projected a very bright side of Pakistan’s society to the international community. The democratic process gets strength with elections and the subsequent smooth transfer of power to the winning party. Unfortunately, the track record of our political leadership on this particular aspect is not encouraging. Non-acceptance of election results by the losing side has always been a key contributing factor towards incurable political disorder.

The continuation of unprecedented internal disorder spread over the past ten years is nothing but a sorry tale of undemocratic tendencies prevailing in our political culture. After the smooth conduct of elections under a highly challenging environment, now, top-tier political leadership now carries a major responsibility of restoring the lost stability by adopting the true democratic approach. Ray of hope emerging from peaceful polling can only be converted into a shining future by adopting the tolerant democratic approach in the upcoming parliament.

The writer is a freelance and can be reached at sikandarnoorani @yahoo.com