Allegations of rigged elections fuel societal discord, deepening the national quagmire as trust erodes, posing a threat to democratic foundations.

2023 was a year that no one might want to remember. But such a country which is in the grip of various crises, there is no hope regarding what the future will bring for it.

The new year has not started well with recent allegations of persecution of dissenters. The elections are almost a month away, but the elections are already being stolen.

Nomination Papers Rejected

The widespread rejection of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates’ nomination papers has called into question the legality of the elections. The election process as a whole has been corrupted.

PTI leaders are still being oppressed, as evidenced by the heinous footage of former Federal Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi being shoved into a police van. It appears that as February 8 draws near, the crackdown will get more severe.

An additional instance of the use of terror to repress political opponents is what is purported to have happened to the family of PTI candidate and former member of the National Assembly, Jamshed Dasti.

Jamshed Dasti, a wanted man, claimed in a social media video message that went viral that the security services had stripped his wife in front of their kids and ransacked their home in order to evade arrest. The police, however, have refuted these claims.

There was no such supposed savagery, not even in the days of military dictatorship. It’s unsettling to read this at the beginning of the new year.

With a caretaker administration in place, the security establishment’s power is only increasing. The nation cannot achieve political stability through the show of politics.

Challenge the Establishment Electoral Process

Numerous Baloch leaders, like Akhtar Mengal, had their nomination papers denied for unimportant reasons. Its primary goal is to undermine the PTI and other political parties that oppose the establishment’s electoral system.

There isn’t much chance of overturning the electoral tribunals’ decision to reject the nomination papers under these conditions.

This calls into question the Pakistani Election Commission’s neutrality and independence. These accusations are supported by the commission’s decision to remove the election emblem “bat” from PTI.

It’s interesting to note that the electoral Commission appealed the Peshawar High Court’s ruling to allow the PTI to use its electoral symbol again.

In whose hand are the leaves?

It is not too difficult to determine whose hand the leaves are from this. The federation will be weakened by such acts.

The election system’s demise will be accelerated by electoral misconduct. Right now, the whole political system is in shambles.

It’s also not good that the Muslim League (N) and a few other mainstream political parties support the establishment in order to forward their own agendas.

It is hardly unexpected, then, that this politics exists given our history of power struggles. Now that it looks like it will win back the majority and has eliminated a significant rival, the Muslim League (N) leadership is working to put together a coalition government for the future.

However, the party has not yet developed a comprehensive strategy to address the numerous issues confronting the nation. The party’s previous performance serves as the foundation for its whole story.

The majority of the candidates on the PML-N’s list for the election are familiar faces—members of the Sharif family.

The party doesn’t seem to have moved on from its past and that change is not possible because no fresh faces have surfaced. Approximately 65 percent of the voting list is made up of young voters, therefore it will be quite difficult for the party leadership to organize them.

Problems

Thus yet, all we have witnessed are a few public catchphrases and unrealistic assurances. The severity of the issues within the main political parties is actually not recognized.

They don’t discuss topics like the worsening state of the economy, growing inequality, the catastrophic repercussions of climate change, and population expansion.

Not even the growing number of terrorist occurrences is addressed. Due to these political parties’ longstanding deference to the military in questions of foreign policy and national security, the nation is currently traveling in one direction.

With no indication of civilian control, the security establishment has become firmly established within our power structure. There are worries that a breakdown in the political authority of civilians would lead to more unrest.

Furthermore, serious issues with economic and governance cannot be resolved by such a system. How much authority future civilian administrations will have in a system supported by the military is still to be seen.

Election rigging and open power play will sink the nation even further. Free and fair elections are the only way to bring the situation under control. However, not many appear to understand how dangerous the approaching storm.

Also read this: LHC Dismiss PTI Appeal Against the Removal of “Bat” Election Symbol

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