Pakistan: ''A lacklustre affair: Election campaigning''

SO far, several reasons have hampered parties from campaigning enthusiastically for the May 11 vote. These have included the initial uncertainty of the elections being held at all. Indecision over party candidates and valid security concerns have been other reasons, with some candidates and their supporters falling prey to acts of terrorism. All this has taken away from the festivity of the election season that has its own distinctiveness in this part of the world. Traditionally, after the Raj days, public meetings and processions were the most effective mode of political mobilisation. This time, it is TV and social media on which the parties and candidates have largely relied to convey their viewpoints to potential voters, and this mode of campaigning has not contributed to electoral vitality. However, with the deadline for the withdrawal of nomination papers over, the stage is now set for a historic election that will, for the first time in this country’s history, see an elected government taking over from another that completed a full five-year term. The task facing the Election Commission of Pakistan and the interim government is challenging. At stake are 849 general seats in the national and provincial assemblies, contested by candidates whose number — before the final list — stood at 23,079, an average of 27 for each constituency. The number of registered voters is 86,189,802, including 37,597,387 women. The latter figure, although less than half that for male voters, indicates that the number of women participating in the political process has kept pace with the growing population. And it is refreshing to know that women from the conservative tribal areas will be contesting alongside other women, including a former bonded labourer from Sindh. Since all campaigning must come to an end 48 hours before the vote, the contestants have three weeks in which to maximise their efforts. This way, this will be the shortest campaign period in Pakistan’s history. Will the candidates conform to the strict criterion laid down by the ECP? Will violence not linked to the terrorist threat obstruct electioneering? Will rules against providing transport for voters on polling day be flouted? It will be interesting to see how these problems are tackled by the ECP and the law enforcement authorities. There are of course limits beyond which the ECP and the law enforcers cannot be fully effective. Ultimately, it is the candidates and their supporters who have to demonstrate restraint and make it a violence-free and transparent exercise.