Demanding democracy, but refusing to vote!

By Nusrat Nasarullah

Despite an extensive advertising that the Election Commission did for the general elections on Thursday, there was a dismal turnout of voters in the polls. It is not to suggest that the EC failed to persuade the electorate, it is more an obvious failure of the citizens themselves to have risen to play their roles.

The question that goes abegging is this: why is the Pakistani voters stay away from the general elections despite the fact that each time when there is a military rule, the voters are clamouring and yearning for democracy.

Even women who seek to play larger roles in society, or the vocal youth (now 18 and above) who want to have a say in the running of government and society, failed to make their presence felt this time, in particular.

One has been talking to people in town on the indifference and apathy of the local voter (cynical, angry, frustrated, weary and so on) and at least any of them seems to make an interesting profile.

But you have always voted in the past and you stayed away this time? I asked him; and without a semblance of any regret, he said he had had enough of this exercise in democracy. He was tired. He did not say that he did not believe in democracy, but he said he was not sure whether he would really matter in his constituency.

He had voted in the 1970 general elections, he recalled. That was the first general elections in his life, soon after finishing with university. He thought that things would change enormously; he recalled that there was a civil war in former East Pakistan and then came the Fall of Dhaka. That happened.

He again voted in the general elections in March 1977, even though he was somewhat unhappy with the way democracy was going. That electoral experience brought in another Martial Law. But that does not mean you stop voting, which is a responsibility, I said. He rejected the argument promptly.

Then came the experience of the 1985 polls, and the different general elections that were held in the 90s, and this to him meant a long-lasting disillusionment with the bureaucrats, politicians and with democracy. He did go to vote each time, went through the hassle of trying to find his name in the city's voters lists, and stand in queues and suffer the mismanagement of the electoral staff.

On that election day, he would feel good, and upright. Even strong, as he had voted. Sometimes his candidates would win, and sometimes they would lose. But that did not matter to him, and to his friends. But the awful way an elected government would function, or be thrown out, kept on eroding his faith in the very act and process of voting. And yet, the contradiction within him was that he continued to believe in democracy.

Some of his friends began saying openly that they did not believe in democracy for this country, but this weary man stood by his democratic vision, and his faith in the people.

On Thursday, he was somewhat sheepish and guilty at the end of the day - that he had not voted. He had not just failed his society, but he had failed himself. He had not even bothered to find out whether his name was in the voters list, and when a particular family in his neighbourhood said that his name was missing from the list for the first time, he felt reassured. At least he did not have to suffer the heat of that October sun.

According to some media reports, a reason why the turnout was low this time was the weather. The warm treacherous weather. But that is not good enough reason not to vote. In fact, there are no reasons why a person should not cast his vote. Reports say that daily wage earners did not vote, for they wanted to give the highest priority even on that day to the financial aspect of their lives.

In a report, one of the daily wage earner said that "I hate them (politicians) because when they come to power, they would not allow you even to wait outside their office gates". Then he spoke of the role of politicians in the country.

Even if one was to appreciate the poor man's nonchalant attitude to going out to vote, how does one explain the attitude of the affluent, educated people in this city. They are the people who are forever complaining of either the absence of democracy or rampant corruption, or of the absence of good governance, or inefficient bureaucrats, or a long list of ills of Pakistani society. Yet when it comes to going at least a step forward in making their small significant contribution to society, they fall short. They stay away from the polls.

There are now varying depressing estimates of the turnout for the polls on Thursday, and it only makes you wonder whether, and to what extent, would the results have been different had a larger number come out to vote. Would it have had a real bearing on the outcome?

It is argued that there is a worldwide trend, even in western democracies, that the voter turnout has declined. That is not good enough reason for our own low turnout. Keep in mind that each general election has brought the graph of voter turnout lower, and that in a context where Pakistani society has a growing number of problems which are crying out for solutions; solutions that will warrant an informed public opinion, a conscientious citizenry.

What is baffling is that this time, for the first time not only was the voting age brought down to 18 but there were also a welcome addition to television channels (besides the Pakistan TV whose general stance towards the election results coverage was rather flippant it seemed); and these overseas TV channels focusing on Pakistan should have acted as a motivation to make the citizen cast his vote.

The point to conclude with is this: will this disappointing trend of staying away from the polling station by the voter stay for good?

PS: Let me confess here that I did not vote this time and did not feel good about it, to say the least.

[taken with permission from http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/13/fea.htm#1]

Date/Time Last Modified: 10/24/2002 9:23:13 AM

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