M.Mubasir Khan Akhrota
With the general elections upcoming next month, there are increasing apprehensions regarding the reliability of the poll process as the pre_election period saw only selected ones being allowed to campaign for their votes.The recent months also witnessed full scale strike down on PTI candidates and the party was deprived of its electoral symbol.These events marked the end of rule of law and due process in the country as the actions taken were not in conformance with the codes of procedural justice and there is no provision in the constitution for undertaking such actions especially ahead of a maga event as these may impact the results of poll process.Whether the poll process will be reliable or not is no longer a question as the race to election was full of push and pull factors aiming to achieve the desired outcome. Once again the political victimization has given way to apolitical actors to sit on sides in electoral procedure. The PMLN and PPP need to learn from their past history that intervention by the apolitical actors has never done the country any good. The result of seeking help of those sitting in powerful corridors will again be the same as has been in the past. The politicians need to give up the politics of revenge and instead sit together to resolve their issues. Only then it is possible that the apolitical forces will find no place to intervene in politics of country. Moreover, for good governance to prevail,participation by the common masses is the most integral factor according to World Bank. And this participantion is only possible when the elections are free and fair and people have freedom of expression and association. But in the case of Pakistan, the situation is otherwise. The association are not formed rather laughed by power hubs to counter the emerging forces and people have no right to express freely. In such a scenario, transparency and accountability are not possible to achieve and rule of few overtakes rule of law . Resultantly, the few think and decide in the favor of their personal interests and strategic vision in the country is replaced by corporate vision. These all changes make good governance a distant dream and worsen the other developmental indicators. This is the vicious cycle Pakistan is tangled in since its independence. To escape from this, the first and foremost thing to do will be opening the gates for participation by common masses which the authorities have locked up so far. The participation will bring accountability, transparency and rule of law. It will also replace corporate vision with the strategic vision in line with the interests of the country. Let’s hope that the upcoming election will be a free and fair one and will bring those to power who are really deserving of it .
