September 24, 2002	Tuesday	Rajab 16, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 23: The elections that come on the heels of a massive ‘political cleansing’ are marked by more departures than any other in the country’s history.

Former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, representing Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), have been forced into exile. The political career of the two would-be main contenders for the prime ministerial slot has been for the foreseeable future stymied through a Presidential Order.

By virtue of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance and the Legal Framework Order prepared by the National Reconstruction Bureau, certain political luminaries are either in detention or stand disqualified. They include Shahbaz Sharif, Gauhar Ayub, Javed Hashmi, Yusaf Raza Gillani, Asif Zardari and Nawaz Khokhar.

A lot of ousted political heavyweights have their scions contesting the polls.

For the first time, the public representatives across the political divide will have something in common - they will be graduates.

None of the new heads of the major political parties seen as likely contenders for the prime ministerial slot - Amin Faheem and Mian Azhar - have a track record in government at the federal level.

It will be the first instance since 1988 that there will be no woman candidate for the top slot, unless Zubeida Jalal is considered as one.

Another significant aspect of the elections is the bonding of seven major religious parties under the banner of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. Previously, they entered electoral alliance with the mainstream political forces. However, this time the religious parties have forged an alliance to bring Islamic revolution.

Unlike previous election campaigns, this one has been low-key, short in duration and scope. It has lacked flavor, spontaneity and enthusiasm, at least this far. No gimmicks or antics that would engage or amuse the voters. No spirited and milling crowds at public meetings - rather no big rallies for concerns of security and the curbs on political activity.

Notably, there has been an absence of organized media campaign that had been the hallmark of previous elections. Unlike the past, no media consultants have been hired by leading political parties nor political advertisements have appeared in the press. Hussain Haqqani and Mushahid Hussain, who masterminded the media campaign of the two former premiers, are also missing. Hence no fact sheets circulated and no front-page ad campaign in newspapers that marked the elections in the 1990s.

While constituency-level political dynamics may be evident, there are no broad issues that dominate the limited electioneering. The campaign has largely been devoid of issues such as unemployment, price hike, access to social services, and law and order.

Local patronage, not public policy, seems to be the focus of the elections.

The overriding issue is not the Kashmir dispute, the nuclear bomb, corruption or terrorism. The call is for a truly representative government, not one in uniform.

The khakis have done what no one could do previously. They have created a sympathy vote for the cheerless and once bitterly condemned politicians. They have brought the two major political parties together, even if only to push the one-point agenda of sending the army back to the barracks.

With the establishment making little effort to conceal its support for the king’s party, concerns of pre-poll rigging have become real and deep. It is the first time in the country’s election history that Nazims are at play in power politics. They are being used to ensure victory of the incumbent government’s favourites, even though there is a law prohibiting that.

The reduction of voting age limit to 18 years has increased the number of voters by some 5.2 million to around 72 million.