THE project of weakening political parties in Pakistan seems to be on track, with tricks and interventions ensuring that no one political party wins a majority in parliament. The record number of voters who put their faith in the democratic process by coming out to make their voice heard are feeling dejected today.

The largest political party in the National Assembly has become the second largest now because the ECP refused to allot it the constitutionally mandated reserved seats for women and minorities, and its leader remains incarcerated in cases hurriedly concluded, marred by violations of due process.

Foul play in the vote-counting process remains unaddressed or delayed, much like everything else related to this election since the process started two years ago. Although the highest number of disputes have been filed by PTI-backed candidates, there are few political parties pleased with the results, either based on ground realities, or their expectations from the engineering process.

The PML-N campaigned, positing Nawaz Sharif as the fourth-time prime minister this year, but despite the party forming the government, this promise was not fulfilled. The PPP promised Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as PM, but then refused to take cabinet positions, despite supporting the PML-N-led government. PTI voters wanted to see Imran Khan lead the country, but he remains in jail and the party was disallowed its election symbol and the reserved seats its voters deserve as per the Constitution.

What ensues? Five years of political parties delegitimising each other, either for lack of a clear mandate, convictions by the court, or ill-gotten reserved seats — the list goes on. What does this mean for democratic stability? Is this a conducive environment for economic stability? Will rights be protected? What are some signals for the upcoming half decade?

The ongoing blocking of X signifies an institutional breakdown in Pakistan.

The Shehbaz Sharif-led government has landed at a time when journalists are incarcerated for doing their job, social media platform Twitter/ X remains blocked, opposition leaders are censored on state television, and peaceful protesters are arrested for exercising their rights.

Notably, no conversation about the election is complete without the appraisal of the impact that the mobile phone network shutdown had on the election process. Using the lukewarm excuse of maintaining security without qualifying the logical merits of such a move, the lack of connectivity not only reduced the potential voter turnout, but also played a primary role in tainting the election result process where presiding officers could not upload the Form 45 results onto the ECP system.

This critical delay put the entire election process into question, and is unforgivable on the part of those behind it. Even the most enthusiastic supporters of the regime criticised this move, which drew international scepticism regarding the fairness of the election. The findings of the research organisation Pildat show a 40 per cent score for election result management this year; and a historic low of 40pc post-poll satisfaction rate, matching the rate of the 2002 elections held under dictator General Musharraf.

The ongoing blocking of X signifies an institutional breakdown in Pakistan. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, and the IT and interior ministries have all distanced themselves from the ban, which shows that none of the institutions with the legal mandate to block websites have taken responsibility for the nationwide disruption of a social media platform. What message does this send to anybody wanting to do IT-related business in Pakistan? What will the PML-N government do about the censorship of X — investigate the blocking, order its restoration? Or will the PM and his cabinet continue to tweet using VPNs and pretend like nothing is wrong, as did the caretaker government?

The stifling of critical voices by the state continues, as the political opposition is censored on the state channel that broadcasts parliamentary proceedings. Journalist Asad Ali Toor has been sent to jail on judicial remand after being in the custody of the FIA for several days in a case booked under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, which continues to be (ab)used to punish journalists.

Despite the Protection of Journalists Act that is meant to protect journalistic sources, the authorities keep pressing Toor to identify his sources. Meanwhile, a social media campaign is accusing him of spreading ‘disinformation’ for failing to produce evidence of his claims — forgetting the basic principle of journalism being protected by the law protecting one’s sources.

Similarly, another journalist Imran Riaz Khan, who, like Toor, has an active YouTube channel, remains in state detention as he was rearrested in a ‘terrorism’ case right after getting bail in a ‘corruption’ case. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for the immediate release of both journalists. Khan and Toor were both the subjects of a BBC documentary Pakistan: Journalists Under Fire released on Feb 16.

While all of this has been happening, a senator — whose party membership was suspended by the PPP earlier this year — submitted a resolution (subsequently withdrawn) in the Upper House calling for a ban on all social media platforms in Pakistan “to protect the youth”. Perhaps he was unaware that social media and the IT sector are one of the few sectors that are growing in Pakistan. Unfortunately, their potential growth is being stymied by the uncertainty that arbitrary bans and shutdowns bring.

The grace shown by the Jamaat-i-Islami’s Hafiz Naeem when he conceded defeat in the Karachi MPA election, despite being declared the winner by the ECP, is a precedent that all politicians who benefit from wrongful victories in the election should follow.

They must also condemn the forced resignations of politicians, as well as forced joining of other political parties. It is incumbent upon the higher judiciary to protect the mandate of the people and stand against the violation of fundamental rights. Otherwise, we will find ourselves on the brink of complete institutional breakdown.

Democracy cannot be implemented under duress. Civilians must unite to uphold it, and draw red lines.

The writer is director of Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum for digital rights.

X: @UsamaKhilji

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2024