Order and Anarchy

So now that we are done with the exercise of electing local district governments in the country, I want to put my mind out on the efficacy of the whole process.

It’s worthless now to repeat the mode in which these polls were held – in two phases. The government had promised that these elections would be held on a non – party basis and that no efforts will be spared to make sure that the whole process remains transparent. For this purpose, the Election Commission of pakistan had also issued a Code of Conduct and had also instructed that whoever found violating the code, will be dealt with strictly.

Now with all this rhetoric over, we look at what actually took place in the name of elections.

BBC reports that around 37 people died in poll related violence accross the country in both the phases – 15 in the first phase and 22 in the second. And just look at the “holy” cause for which these people laid their lives – petty local body seats.

This shows the extent of moral depravity of our society and the extent to which materialism has penetrated in it. Anyways, this was just another aspect.

The widespread flouting of the Code of Conduct was visible throughout the election campaigns and on the polling day also. Adding insult to injury, the Election Commission seemed to be doing simply nothing regarding the wholesale contempt shown to it. But we can expect such a thing happening in a country where almost every stakeholder of the society indulges in law breaking – right from the legislators who frame the laws to the common man on the street.

The Election Commission had directed that there shall not any sort of display of symbols of any political party in election campaigns. And every political party in the country worth its name was involved in disregarding this directive. Even today as of this moment, one can see a life sized billboard advertising a political party and its leader is affixed on a building in the Guru Mandir area in Karachi. This was put there during the campaign of the first phase of elections. this political party also happens to be part of the coalition government both at the center and in the province of Sind.

The Election Commission of pakistan also directed that any sitting legislator of any political party shall not participate in campaigning activities. However, the what to say of the Chief Minister, when the Prime Minister himself disregarded this directive by campaigning in Hyderabad.

The press is awash with stories about incidents of bogus voting aqnd large scale rigging. This also includes reports of a large number of candidates having been elected unopposed.

All such incidents have turned the local body polls into a futile exercise, meant only as an eyewash, with a pre – planned agenda in mind on the part of the powers that be. In my opinion, these polls were meant to, as is the case with all such elections in the chequered political history of Pakistan, make a fool of the intellect of those who believe that Pakistan is being led to a full working democracy with tranparent processes.