2024 - An election year having joys and heartbreaks
World
The outgoing year is one of elections in Pakistan, Indian and the USA
PML-N and PPP formed federal government to appoint Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister and Asif Ali Zardari as president
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won historic third term in office
US election on Nov 5 brought Donald Trump as 47th president
By Arshad Shafiq
In a democratic system of government, vote is the only way for the masses to send their representatives to the assemblies. Therefore, political experts stress continuity and transparency of elections in order to ensure representation of all and sundry in the form of their elected MPs or representatives.
IS IT A PANACEA FOR SENSE OF DEPRIVATION?
Experts believe election is the panacea for anti-state sentiments and a sense of deprivation. Where the election is held in a transparent manner with continuity, we rarely find any news of disintegration.
It is election that provides the masses with an opportunity to hold accountable those who they think fail to deliver.
THE OUTGOING YEAR IS ONE OF ELECTIONS
EXPECTATIONS IN PAKISTAN
Though held some 15 months late, Feb 8, 2024 elections were the continuity of previous elections. This is a positive sign that in Pakistan elections have been held almost regularly, though some governments could not complete their constitutional terms.
But, it does not belittle the impact of elections, though there has always been a room for improvement in the conduct of elections as various political parties time and again have been giving suggestions to improve the election system, with an emphasis on introducing electronic voting machines (EVMs).
VOTERS, CANDIDATES
More than 128 million voters across the country were eligible to cast vote in Feb 8, 2024 general elections. The general elections were held for national and provincial assemblies in four provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, with nearly 18,000 candidates competing for 336 National Assembly seats and 749 Provincial Assembly seats.
HIGHEST-EVER TURNOUT
The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) released a detailed analysis of voters’ participation in 2024 general elections. The report, titled ‘GE-2024: Brief on Assessing Demographic and Gender Turnout Dynamics,’ provides an in-depth review of voter trends, including male and female participation, and draws comparisons with the previous general elections.
As many as 61,282,920 voters cast their ballots during GE-2024, which is the highest ever number of voters turning out to vote in any general election.
WOMEN’S TURNOUT REMAINS HIGH
The share of women voters in the total polled votes saw a marked increase in the 2024 general elections compared to 2018, with women casting 24.4 million of the 58.9m votes.
FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT
In a surprise turn in general elections, independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the highest number of seats. This was despite the deprivation of the party’s electoral symbol, which prevented it from running as a party and its founder Imran Khan being involved in cases.
The PTI-backed independent candidates won 93, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 75, and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) gained 54 seats in the National Assembly election. The PML-N and PPP formed the federal government to appoint Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister and Asif Ali Zardari as the president.
Read More: Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as country's 24th prime minister
CREDIBILITY OF THE 2024 ELECTION
The February 2024 general elections were also marred by serious allegations of pre-poll rigging, lack of transparency and electoral fraud. Many political workers faced arrests or detentions prior to the elections.
Through a Supreme Court judgement, the PTI was deprived of its election symbol for not holding its intra-party election in time. There have been allegations of long and unexplained delays in the announcement of results and changes in results through forgery of Forms 45 and 47, which provide a compilation of results from all polling stations and the final non-official result.
Even if the allegations of electoral manipulation are exaggerated, the credibility of the 2024 election has been damaged.
STAKEHOLDERS’ RESPONSIBILITY
There is a need for all stakeholders to engage in dialogue to address each other’s legitimate concerns and commit to consolidation of democratic process through, among others, conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
ELECTION IN INDIA
MODI WINS, HIS BJP SUFFERS SETBACK
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a historic third term in office, but his party lost its majority stake in parliament. The party hoped to win more than 400 seats in a 543-member parliament, but it took less than 300.
General elections were held in India from April 19 to June 1, 2024 in seven phases to elect all 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on June 4 to form the 18th Lok Sabha. The result of the elections marked Modi’s third term as prime minister and his first time heading a coalition government.
Read More: India's Lok Sabha election 2024: What you need to know
INDIA’S OPPOSITION STRIKES BACK
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Narendra Modi launched his election campaign from the Ram Mandir, built on the site of a destroyed mosque. But Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost its seat in the town where the temple stands.
The opposition – which had been all but written off by many pundits and polls – put on a far stronger showing than expected, winning seats in BJP strongholds while denting Modi’s aura of invincibility. The INDIA alliance, a grouping of dozens of political parties with a breadth of political positions, won 235 out of 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament, denying the BJP its dream of forming a supermajority – and with it a mandate to enact radical change.
US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2024
The United States held presidential election on Nov 5, 2024 and the nation elected Donald Trump to return to the White House as the 47th United States president.
SURPRISE
Also read: Trump elected 47th US president in stunning comeback
Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a race far less tight than expected as he triumphed in key battleground states. His victory was met by international congratulations. Trump’s victory in those swing states saw him with 277 electoral votes against 224 for Harris.
VOTERS’ VIEWS ON ELECTION CONDUCT
American voters overwhelmingly say the 2024 elections across the country and in their own communities were run well this year, and they expressed high levels of confidence that votes were counted accurately.
This stands in stark contrast to four years ago, when far fewer voters expressed confidence.
