The big turn out

The 55 per cent turnout means greater responsibility

There is good news and there is bad news to share. The good news is that the overall voter turnout across Pakistan in the May 11 polls is up, by 9 per cent from the 2008 elections. Added to the fact that the current elections were held under the shadow of terror and violence, with both Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa facing daily calamities, the numbers tell a story that the voter defied the militants. But here comes the bad news: the turnout was far worse in Balochistan and the tribal areas. A military operation was launched in the former to ensure a peaceful election but resulted in an election boycott, with voting remaining under 10 per cent in about 10 districts. The later, recovering from a decade of being under siege and 65 years under the FCR laws, is yet to form its trust in the processes of democracy.

Whatever the story may be in Balochistan, it is the 55 per cent turnout in 2013 that appears to be the dominant story of the current general elections. Up from 44 per cent in 2008, when some parties including the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Baloch nationalist parties boycotted, the current polls spoke of growing confidence in democracy to deliver. According to figures released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bagged 10.4865 million votes; Pakistan Threek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured 7.679 million; Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) 6.55 million and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) got 2.458 million votes in the elections. It also disclosed that around 46.2 million people exercised their right of franchise, with the National Assembly vote count almost equal to the Provincial Assembly turnout.

However, the difference between the lowest turnout, NA-42 in the tribal areas of 11.57 per cent, and the highest turnout in NA-191 Bahawalnagar, is alarming. It suggests people in some areas trust the electoral system while others do not. Winning the trust of those disillusioned ones is the task of the next elected governments. The factors responsible for such low turnouts must be removed in the next five years. Balochistan and the tribal areas must be wooed while those restricting women from voting must be taken to task. But the turnout more positively mandates the new elected government to implement its programmes and set right the inequality in civil-military relations. The Earlier governments could not muster a mandate similar to the one about to come into power and it means more pressure to deliver. Spiderman once said: “With great power comes great responsibility.” The dictum applies to the coming government from whom the public shall expect good governance, promoting democratic culture and strengthening institutions. And why not? 55 per cent of registered voters can claim they gave the system and democracy its mandate.