Polls in Pakistan
By the Editor

AMID marvelous scenario – by and large – marked by peace and amity, the elections in Pakistan have come to a logical end – opening vistas for formation of legislatures at the national and provincial horizons – with perfect democratic set-up as the hallmark.

Of-course, it would be a matter of absolute satisfaction for every patriotic Pakistani that as the much-talked-about general elections are now over and a new phase of the democratic process has begun – it is expected to yield upbeat results for the country.

There have been some unfortunate incidents – but it is a matter of great satisfaction that overall the voting process was held in a peaceful and orderly manner.

Though, the outcome of the elections is full of surprises for many for diverse reasons – yet we extend heartiest congratulations to all those whom the nation has given mandate – specifically at a crucial juncture of history.

By all realities – every Pakistani deserves appreciation for this great achievement that augurs well for consolidation of the democratic process and has the potential to usher in an era of political and social stability.

To accomplish this objective – all the players shall have to demonstrate the sense of maturity and seriousness which is the need of the hour in such special circumstances.

While the President deserves appreciation for fulfilling his commitment, the Election Commission is to be lauded for making comprehensive arrangements for holding of free, fair and transparent polls.

Similarly, the law enforcing agencies deserve gratitude for their great services in maintaining law and order – which enabled the electorate to exercise their right of franchise in a serene ambiance.

The results of the elections clearly show that the polls were held in completely fair and transparent manner despite blitz of allegations – which were made by the opposition parties – as well as by a set of local and foreign observers – day in and day out about leeway of rigging.

Side-by-side the people of Pakistan – almost the entire world community was intensely eager that the polls should be free and fair and should be seen as such.

Significantly, the elections-2008 were the most watched polls and it was also prima facie because of this fact – that the Government and the Election Commission of Pakistan took extra care to address complaints and incorporated suggestions to make the exercise absolutely transparent.

As is evident from the results – the elections 2008 have broken several myths and caused big upsets. a lot of heavy weights of the politics – who always made their way to the assemblies one way or the other – were routed like houses of cards.

Almost 60 out of 63 members of the former Cabinet have lost elections – which is obviously a big shock to them and their party.

Most of the people in developing countries like Pakistan – invariably get tired of the sitting government with a call for change.

Yet, so far as the former government is concerned, some sections of the society didn’t see eyeball-to-eyeball with its policies especially those which followed in the aftermath of the unfortunate incidents of Nine/Eleven.

Though Pakistan was cooperating in the war on terror in its own national interests yet some how or other an impression gained the ground that Pakistan was acting in the hands of the United States.

As the graph of the outgoing government started falling swiftly due to law and order situation, the sky-rocketing prices of food items, acute shortage of wheat and atta – enormous load-shedding with suspension of gas supplies added fuel to the fire and that too at a time when the opposition was taking these issues to the masses – through its election campaign.

As for those who faired well in the elections – it is obvious that the PPPP, which has not only swept the polls in the interior Sindh but also established its upright presence in other provinces benefited much from the sympathy vote after the tragic assassination of its Chairperson Ms Benazir Bhutto.

PML (N) deserves admiration for its spectacular performance in the elections. Such a position seems to have surfaced because its top leadership was allowed to return home a day before the close of the date for filing of nomination papers. Thus it did not have much time to muster still more support of the populous.

However, Mian Nawaz Sharif – through his zestful political skill and leadership caliber did attract big crowds to mobilize the people in favor of his party in a short span of time.

Eventually, the way the people demonstrated their confidence in the PML (N) manifests that it is really a major political party of the country.

Yet another positive outcome of the elections is the landslide victory of Awami National Party (ANP) in the NWFP.

By opting for a moderate party – people of NWFP have plainly given a message – that they do not support extremism and terrorism and wish for peace and stability in every vicinity of the province. We feel optimistic that the ANP has the potential to address the challenges facing the area.

Whereas the process of election is over – its outcome has lessons for those who do not believe in politics of principles.

Hence, we do believe that all political parties – irrespective of their status and stature shall work shoulder-to-shoulder to address the challenges – facing the country and would ensure and environ – wherein the democratic process gets solid roots with the advent of every dawn.

While congratulating the winners – we hope that those who could not turn triumphant would get on to the task of analyzing the cause of their defeat, would learn lesson from the history and shall evolve a strategy – whereby perils of all types – explicitly agitation in the arena of politics is made vanished – for all times to come.

Such an ideal scenario is the paramount need for lovely soils of Pakistan – to get flourish in every field for eventual excellence – on national, regional and global level.●