Electoral lessons

Published December 18, 2017
The writer is a freelance journalist.
The writer is a freelance journalist.

WHAT can an election in Alabama tell us about Pakistani politics? Democrat Doug Jones’s defeat of Republican Roy Moore — controversial for his bigotry and allegations of sexual misconduct toward teenagers — in a Senate seat election is being celebrated as a blow for Trump and a victory for decency. But it’s also a warning of how thin the line is between democracies that function and fumble, one that Pakistan can heed as it tries to keep its own afloat.

Jones beat Moore by a 1.5 per cent margin, a slim victory. He was buoyed by massive turnout among African Americans: 96pc of black voters opted for Jones, and turned out in numbers greater than their share in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, when Barack Obama was on the ballot. Jones had specifically appealed to that community to vote for him, highlighting Moore’s long history of racist comments, including praise for America in the era of slavery.

This means that when divisive and polarising figures are part of electoral races, voter turnout is key. To keep the ‘bad’ folk out, the ‘good’ folk need to turn up to vote (which candidates fall in which category is, of course, a matter of perception and political leanings).

When politics becomes too polarised, voters stay at home.

But such contests leave society polarised, and likely intensify schisms and resentments as the electoral victory of one side leaves the other fulminating. Moore did not win the election, but he did secure 48pc of all votes cast, and 91pc of the Republican vote. Over the coming years, his supporters will not be pleased to have a Democrat representing them at the Senate, and will likely galvanise to prevent such a hiccup from recurring come re-election time in three years. They will also likely double down on their right-wing views and points of ideological affinity with Moore.

Recent political events in Pakistan have demonstrated that the religious right is being inflamed as an electoral force in an effort to weaken the PML-N, and presumably other mainstream parties when required. Shocking figures such as TLYRA’s Khadim Rizvi, representatives of the Milli Muslim League, and others with bigoted views regarding different sects, religious minorities, liberals, women, etc. are suddenly political contenders. The only way to keep such regressive forces at bay will be for voters who oppose the extremist viewpoints to come out and unite — in some cases transcending deep political loyalties or sectarian, ethnic or linguistic identities — to keep these unsavoury characters on the fringes of our political spectrum.

But here’s where Alabama and Pakistan differ. Jones could openly speak out against Moore’s misogyny, racism and homophobia. Sadly, our mainstream political parties are too scared to speak out against religious political outfits. Who would do that post-Taseer in a country where blasphemy allegations have deadly consequences?

Our politicians who hope to mobilise voters to keep Pakistan’s versions of Moore out of parliament need to find a new language that strays away from religious issues but clearly promotes social harmony, tolerance, service delivery, and the rule of law. The need for such rhetoric should help centre-left parties like the PPP or ANP become relevant again; unfortunately, this is the challenge that will show the leadership of those parties to be weak and wanting.

Here’s the other warning from Alabama: when politics becomes too polarised and the candidates too unpalatable, voters stay at home. Many Republican voters stayed home, and 1.7pc of the votes were write-ins (akin to a ‘none of the above’ option), a percentage greater than Jones’s margin of victory.

The lack of voter turnout is already a major challenge for Pakistan, where the democratic process has been tainted by decades of martial law and civilian misrule, the political elite are synonymous with corruption, and many still believe the military to be the most effective political actor. To mobilise voters, mainstream parties must present themselves as credible alternatives to more extreme, right-wing groups and the more shadowy political powers. Building that credibility will require leadership changes, intra-party elections, clearer policies and plans for service delivery. A tall order, but if it remains unfilled, democracy in Pakistan will be pure façade.

`That said, the most important thing to take from Alabama is hope. The less reported story from Alabama is that a large number of white voters who normally vote Republican swung left; the proportion rising from 10pc in 2008 to 30pc in this election. That means people with certain political leanings transcended their partisanship to make the sensible choice, and were likely motivated to do so to ensure their state’s best interests.

This position — ideologically inclined one way, but ultimately invested in their country’s prosperity and stability — likely describes the silent majority of Pakistani voters. One has to hope they will make the right choices, if only presented with good options.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

huma.yusuf@gmail.com

Twitter: @humayusuf

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2017

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