Daily Times

The hue and cry following the recent polls clearly indicate the presence of foul play. The critiques are related to concocted encroachments in the political arena. Most of us voters had been foretold about deliberate swinging of the political mandate by means of enhancing legal jurisdiction, and forging inorganic political coalitions. As a voter, I found it harder to approve of such an inorganic political process till the commencement of polling. The voters however, by and large, seem to agree that the polling day was fairly clean, except for a few incidents of misconduct. The voters on this pretext are not left with much options than to accept the legitimacy of the elections and move forward.

I have been extensively travelling across all the provinces for my work, and found the opportunity to talk to people on the road. Interestingly, I discovered that most of them are able to appreciate the assertion that “the best should not be the enemy of good”. It further became clear to me retrospectively that people chose to vote for the PTI, less in favour of the party’s performance, but more due to the polarized political slogans. It is quite evident now that the common Pakistani voter voted against the narratives that are founded on the principles of divisibility. Instead people had gotten quite tired of slogans or the mind-sets espousing parochial identities. To me, it’s a verdict against the factors that lead to polarization within our society. Pakistan deserves to rejoice the three major achievements that we have embraced as a nation.

Firstly, the Pakistani voter has clearly disapproved of the clerical mentality. None of the sectarian outfits managed to receive any sizable popularity. The 2.2 million votes received by the recently emerged clerical outfit only proved the presence of a disillusioned population, thinly spread across the constituencies. The polling results however highlight the geographic areas where the much sought after de-radicalisation movements must be implemented immediately.

The change in this mind-set is due to the new voters that have entered the electoral arena for the first time, many of which have dared to vote against their indoctrinated families in order to bring about real change. Our youth is now increasingly questioning the idea of intolerance and hate speech. This is a notable achievement, as our youth has recognized the tyranny of living across divided fault lines and their change in heart deserves our applause.

The 2.2 million votes received by the recently emerged clerical outfit only proved the presence of a disillusioned population, thinly spread across the constituencies. The polling results however highlight the geographic areas where the much sought after de-radicalisation movementsmust be implemented immediately

Secondly, the voters have given a clear signal that they detest dynasty politics. The youth have realized that most problems in our political arena could be traced to this archaic system, that does nothing to promote the voice of the common man. An example of this change came in the defeat of the PML-N, who had been praised for their public health and mass transit infrastructure initiatives, however they failed to provide anything concrete towards the betterment of society, while there also seemed to be an internal strife going on within the party. The once popular party not only lost its position in the political equation, but also carries the burden of failing a populist mandate bestowed to them in 2013. This whole dynasty saga seems one of the most popular reasons that dissuaded people from voting for the PML-N again.

The remains of the PML-N seem to have failed to have learnt their lessons, however the case of Bilawal is quite different. According to many, the Bhutto family has made immense sacrifices that still make him a likable personality.

Finally and equally importantly, people have shown their desire to end corruption. The common citizen of our nation is tired of this threat to our political system that keeps us from advancing as a society. The common belief today is that you cannot achieve anything in the country without having to resort to corruption first and this also leads to injustice within our community. It is also the cause of the serious challenges the legal system faces today, impeding access to justice and improved rule of law.

Parochial identities, dynastic/ kinship patronage and corruption are amongst the major factors that cause polarization in society. We have long been living with these behaviours that have brewed only hatred and fragmentation in our society.

Pervasive conflicts, violence and abuse in our society are symptoms of polarized behaviours that Pakistani voters have rejected in the 2018 elections. Well done Pakistani voter; especially the youngsters!

The writer is a citizen’s voice

Published in Daily Times, August 6^th 2018.