PPP wins election in Kashmir

Polling in Kashmir has been ended with an outcome of 21 seats for PPP and eight seats for PML (N); as usual PML (N) had refused to accept its electoral defeat and in post polling violence this week at least two people were killed and office of election commission was set ablaze by angry workers of the said political party.

Do we need an election commission to conduct polling for us? We do need it because we do not have local government institutions to conduct polling locally, and besides past dictatorial rulers have established this institution to manipulate electoral outcomes and to bring in their own cronies as victors. That is why Pakistan Election Commission as a Federal institution conducts polling and announces the results not only in five provinces of Pakistan but in Kashmir too.   

In USA polling has been managed locally by local government institutions, there is no federal authority like election commission in USA to conduct polling and announce results. The polling system in Nebraska was computerized in 1988 or even earlier then that. Nebraska had started computerization of polling and then rest of states in USA have followed the suit.

In Pakistan it is impossible for oil rich KPK and Punjab to computerize polling system for sake of transparency; federal election commission will never allow even oil rich Sindh and Baluchistan to do the same. Our newly created province of Gilgit probably can not afford to computerize its polling system, but even if it can do so, the conduct of polling is federal subject and Election Commission is their to conduct it in a same old fashioned way in which part workers snatch ballot boxes, can burn the votes, and fill the ballot boxes again with fake votes etc.

It is high time for parliament to find a way out to ensure transparency in polling outcome of elections, computerization of electoral system including polling mechanism is one way out. By this way we can reduce post polling violence incidents and allegations of mass scale rigging. Possibility of rigging in this week polling in Kashmir is quite rare, in presence of free and independent media and judiciary rigging possibility is quite low, beside the difference in number of seats reflects clear electoral victory for PPP, if PML(N) judiciary is their to help.

Decency, respect for law and constitution is lacking from our political culture, intolerance, lack of acceptance of defeat in dignified manner are also rare virtues. In the long in case of continuity in democratic system eventually we might achieve an ideal political culture.

Written by

Abdur Raziq

M.phil US Study (International Relation-History)

Cell phone #  00923339607378