Ever since PTI was ousted in April 2022 by a vote of No Confidence and PDM zealously replaced it, general elections were portrayed as a cherished and ultimate dream of stability. On the contrary, what the country has encountered ever since was descending from one chaos to another.
PDM Alliance rocked the bed for 16 months only to assure the nation that defying an imminent default was the real reason they put their foot into mouths. However, what the masses witnessed was a rollback of all corruption cases and punitive illegibilities of PMLN at a lightening speed. Also, it was an amazing sight to witness a merry-go ride by over a dozen political parties of all shades and sizes purely for the sweet love for the land and its people!
PTI in despair to seek election and save its supremo from arrest, staged defiance by resorting to repeated street power and finally went bersk on May 9. The aftermath of the May 9 events lead to extreme and high-handed measures by the state machinery causing the meltdown of PTI’s party structure…. From one chaos to another!
Caretakers took over to oversee the next chaos. Election Commission kept the whole country and courts guessing the election date! It was bizarre to see how the constitution was ( mis)interpreted and who had the legitimate power to decide the General Election date.
The president’s office hibernated a few futile efforts to exert itself being the constitutional authority to do so. It was ultimately, the Supreme Court that forced the Election Commission to spill the beans and cough up 8th Feb as the General Election date.
As the election gained momentum, administrative and legal efforts to strip of PTI being a political entity and having an election symbol gained momentum too. Political divisions, the fragility of the economy, and polarization among the masses kept increasing during this whole period. Mainstream media and the hyperuse of social media widened the trust deficit amongst the masses and severely damaged the credibility of the major electoral process and related institutions.
PTI skillfully used social media to circumvent the regressive measures thrust upon it to intimidate its party and its voters. Massive and unexpected turnout of PTI voters on election day tilted the balance of general elections. Election Monitoring System ( EMS) fell flat on the eve of election night as its peer RTS did during 2018.
An unexpected long pause in results announcement during election night and many surprises on the next morning ignited a new wave of mistrust and chaos. Election results were disputed by all leading parties except PMLN which wanted to cry on spilled beans but had to swallow the results with a long face and a heavy heart.
Here we are! From one chaos of ousting PTI in April 2022 to another. A hung parliament with colliding political positions of all stakeholders shaped another chaos; a forced & cobbled alliance and a confrontational opposition.
The country is on the verge of economic collapse. At the same time, the nation stands severely polarised due to wounded national coherence. The expected new government comprising PMLN and PPPP has odd and uninterested bedfellows with no clear economic and political vision.
The illusion of stability stemming from the general election turned out to be an ill-founded dream. What we have at hand is another chaos replacing the previous one. A typical Pakistani style; if you can’t settle one chaos, create a new one!
( Writer is a Lahore based Political Economist, Columnist and Philanthropist)
