Voters

[fatman17]

Opinion


Voters

Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, December 09, 2012


Capital suggestion



Every equation has two expressions. Our democratic equation also has two sides: the demand side and the supply side. What do Pakistani voters demand and what do Pakistani politicians give them? Under Article 51 of our constitution, “There shall be three hundred and forty-two seats for members in the National Assembly...” Of the 342, 272 are directly contested. Of the 272, nearly 200 are predominantly rural. The question therefore boils down to: what do rural voters demand?



The Election Commission has 84.4 million registered voters. If the election data from 1977, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2008 is any guide then 26 million rural voters and a mere 8 million urban voters will actually come out – or will be brought out – to vote. The question further boils down to: what do 26 million rural voters demand?



Now the ground reality. The state does not exist a mere ten miles out of any major metropolitan area. In essence, the 26 million rural voters live out there in the jungle. What do these 26 million rural voters living out there in the jungle demand? Answer: An MNA who can provide them what the state has failed to provide – some semblance of physical and economic security.



The 26 million demand neither morality nor honesty. Their demand has nothing to do with ‘quality of life’ issues, drone attacks, corruption or governance. This is exactly where the demand side of the voters meets the supply side of the leaders. The 26 million will get the leaders they demand. Winning an election, therefore, is about three things: establishing ‘patron-client relationships’, the use of human networks and the redistribution of state patronage.



Now the real question. Who will win the next election? Answer: The ‘machine politician’ – a candidate who can put together a machine (read: human network) that provides voters what they demand. A candidate who can provide these 26 million living out in the jungle what the state has failed to – the hope of physical and economic security. ‘Machine politics’ is all about getting elected, capturing state resources and then the redistribution of patronage to complete the ‘patron-client asymmetric relationship cycle’ between the voter and the elected.



This is how D Morgan writing for Fair Observer described Pakistan’s machine politics: “National and regional power brokers, usually in the form of the large political parties, award favours – cash, jobs and influence – to their supporters in return for votes. This means that most of the money that should be going into education, renewing decrepit infrastructure......and investing in electricity generation is actually wasted through patronage.



“While this allows the large parties to create the illusion of popular support in the short-term, it beggars the country over the longer term. Supporters and functionaries of the PPP or the PML-N, the two largest parties, are able to amass personal fortunes.....for themselves and their relatives, while the country, as a whole, goes to hell in a handcart.”


Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” We have been through nine elections over the past 42 years – and are now expecting different results from the tenth election.



The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com

 

[Leader]

Dont disagree with the mentality of the voters, generally speaking, but there is a bright chance that we would be able to battle out our way from the very system, the youth wants change, atleast the urban youth is politicized and know what is quality of life... hope they learn to fight... and thats all what it will take to overcome bad people?

 

[Sinnerman108]

^^^
@Leader

See this is a perfect article, and this is precisely what I meant when I commented about PTI lacking the real awami drive.

Awam = 200 seats = rural Pakistan

=> no internet + no english and NO burgers !

That is the battleground where PTI will face the feudal lords.

 

[Leader]

^^^
@Leader

See this is a perfect article, and this is precisely what I meant when I commented about PTI lacking the real awami drive.

Awam = 200 seats = rural Pakistan

=> no internet + no english and NO burgers !

That is the battleground where PTI will face the feudal lords.

He is trying his best....

as far as his urban support is concern, they are not willing to lay waste a year to campaign for PTI yet... remember in 1946 muslim student federation was asked by Jinnah to quit academic study for a year and work to campaign for Pakistan and they did reach out each village, this costed them a year but they made AIML won the election... the urban support may be effective in urban areas, but in rural areas, PTI has to look in the grey !!

 

[W.11]

^ this he should have done instead of jalsas in the first place, you can call in million people jalsa, but in election day they would vote another guy

but by watching the political shows i can say, he has dented his credibility and chances by importing lotas very much, if he had only used new people instead of the old party discarded ones then his popularity had not see a land slide decrease

 

[Leader]

^ this he should have done instead of jalsas in the first place, you can call in million people jalsa, but in election day they would vote another guy

but by watching the political shows i can say, he has dented his credibility and chances by importing lotas very much, if he had only used new people instead of the old party discarded ones then his popularity had not see a land slide decrease

this is election campaign, popularity drive has been done,now getting down to real business....

and no I dont think so he has dented his popularity, he did look into the grey for support and media portrayed things as if what the other party wanted, that is PTI to look bad. as you know mostly take words out of the media's mouth and repeat the rhetoric.

Still if you see people, they dont accuse him of being corrupt, or anything but say he is a yahoodi agent or talk about his past, not what he has said...

another thing is his revolutionary policy, he wants to change the system, and that hurts alot of people, say taking out money from MNAs/MPAs and establishing local bodies, changing thana culture, depoliticising police, making courts functional, controlling corruption etc. that type of people who have benefited from these sources are the loudest opponents of Imran. if you think they are successful in denting Imran's chances, then Im afraid its Pakistan's badluck !!