The Economist

The EconomistJuly 21 st 2018 27

1

“F

OR the first time in our history fair

elections are going to be held” insist-

ed Fawad Chaudhry a spokesman for the

opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ( PTI)

party this week. Unfortunately this view

is not universally held. The national and

state elections on July 25 th in which 100 m

people are registered to vote should mark

a further stage in the country’s progress to-

wards democracy forthe transferofpower

thereafterwill be onlythe second from one

civilian government to another in the

country’s seven decades of coup-studded

history. But the poll takes place amid accu-

sations that the powerful military estab-

lishment is tilting the field in favour of the

PTIand its leader a former cricket star Im-

ran Khan (pictured on the flag).

There is another dark cloud over the

campaign: violence. On July 13 th a suicide-

bomber alleged to have links with Islamic

State killed 149 people in an attackon a ral-

lyin Mastung a town in the south-western

province of Balochistan. It was the coun-

try’s second-deadliest terrorist incident

and a reminder that despite a steep fall in

the number of terrorist incidents in recent

years the menace remains.

The bloodshed occurred on the day

thatthe formerprime minister Nawaz Sha-

rif flew from Britain to Pakistan to begin

serving a ten-year prison term for corrup-

tion—a punishment that his supporters al-

lege was orchestrated by the army. Reflect-

ing the poisonous mood of the campaign

Mr Khan insinuated that Mr Sharif’s party

Khan of having played into the army’s

hands with his successful request for the

Supreme Court to disqualify Mr Sharif as

prime minister because of his undeclared

assets in London (it did so a year ago). The

army had been chafing at Mr Sharif’s at-

tempts to assert civilian supremacy.

The party’s spin

The PTI’sstrategyin thiselection campaign

is similar to the one it adopted five years

ago. It emphasises Mr Khan’s celebrity as

the “captain” who broughthome the Crick-

et World Cup of 1992  as well as talking up

his philanthropy. Mr Khan has established

three world-class cancer hospitals in Paki-

stan. In addition the PTI promises to se-

cure the return from abroad of $ 2. 3 bn that

Mr Khan claims was looted by the Sharif

familyfrom public coffers.

The Oxford-educated ex-cricketer’s ti-

rades against corruption enjoy much ap-

peal among educated well-heeled Paki-

stanis. But Umair Javed a columnist says

that Mr Khan’s attempts at populism are

“just not popular enough” among those

who are less well off. Ali Cheema an aca-

demic says his studies have found that or-

dinary Pakistanis are more interested in

the economy employment and public ser-

vices than in Mr Khan’s anti-corruption

platform. In these areas the PML-N enjoys

a good record. It has fulfilled its manifesto

pledge to end electricity shortages. Its

splurge of spending on infrastructure is

popular (Mr Khan’s accusations that the

the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz

(PML-N) was somehowresponsible forthe

bloodshed in Mastung. “Beginning to

wonder why whenever Nawaz Sharif is in

trouble there is increasing tension along

Pakistan’s borders and a rise in terrorist at-

tacks. Is it a mere coincidence?” Mr Khan

asked in a tweet.

Mr Khan’s party has at least an even

chance ofwinning and he at the age of 65 

of becoming prime minister. What a

change from the years leading up to the

election in 2013  when the PTIhad onlyone

seat in parliament (Mr Khan’s own). Since

then his promise of a naya (new) corrup-

tion-free Pakistan has enthralled young

and middle-class voters. In 2013  in a poll

deemed fair by international observers

the PTItook 34 seats in the 342-seat legisla-

ture breaking the duopoly of the Pakistan

Peoples Party ( PPP) then in power and the

PML-N. Mr Khan is credited with boosting

turnout to a 30 - year high of 55 %.

Howclose he isto the generalsis hard to

gauge. Many Pakistanis still praise the

“Charter for Democracy” signed in 2006

by the PPP and PML-N which appeared to

put an end to years of competition be-

tween the two parties for the army’s fa-

vour. The documentpledgesthat “no party

shall solicit supportofthe military to come

into power”. Mr Khan however declared

it a sham. Within a year of the election in

2013  he was leading protests against the

victorious PML-N accusing it of having

rigged the vote. Nowthe PML-N accusesMr

Pakistan’s general election

Military machinations

ISLAMABAD

Election-rigging and violence overshadowan election that could put Imran Khan a

formercricketstar in charge ofthe country

Asia

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