Elections are just around the corner. There has been a lot of debate and discussion brimming with political hubris in the months running up to it. As usual, nothing of substantial interest to the people – no concrete plans to try to put the economy on a path to recovery; no public schemes that can mature in the months after the election; nothing for an ordinary Pakistan.
For months, the political arena has been abuzz with hours of ‘political debate’ on non-issues and as already mentioned, nothing to do with the people of Pakistan. Political parties have focused on everything and anything – as usual – that is important for their leaders. The most important discussion all through December 2023 was on the allocation of political symbols, with some parties afraid their ‘traditional’ symbols would be given to someone else. Can you blame them? These symbols are the only way their voters can identify them on the ballot paper, as a majority are either politically blind or illiterate. The political symbols are like a book with pictures that help everyone to their conclusions about the story regardless of the accompanying words.
Most parties know the way to their followers’ votes is through their emotions rather than intellect. This helps them since most have not done anything for the people that can be used to woo the voter. Political workers have a special affinity with their party’s symbol, and it works. Many political parties lack substantial projects or even indications that they even attempted to begin any people-friendly projects; therefore, it is better to rile up emotions than logic. Logical voters ask too many questions. Hence the importance of political symbols.
Promises made during elections are old ones- regurgitated and patched up – echoing for decades without any action to back them up. The only way voters can determine who to vote for is to study a party’s manifestos past and present, which should have been released weeks or months before the polling.
The main Pakistani political parties launched their manifestos in the last week of January 2024 for elections to be held on February 8, 2024. There is no explanation or apology for this delay, maybe because the parties are aware of how their voters think and behave – at least devoted loyalists will believe anything they promise as a tradition of Pakistani politics.
They have not impressed critics who commented that the manifestos “lack substance and fail to address the pressing realities of Pakistan”, adding that they rely on promises without offering concrete implementation plans. Others commented that “some have promised much, but most have not bothered at all”.
Why isn’t this a surprise?
The main reason for this is that parties know their voters won’t demand to see manifestos – past and present – which allows them space to play as they like.
Even though the political parties have not given their voters much time – less than 10 days – it wouldn’t hurt for people to do a comparative study of these manifestos with past ones of not only their own party but the others as well.
A manifesto is an extremely important document that informs voters what to expect from someone they elect to run the country for many years. It should be the first thing to be launched and made available to the public. It is the resume of the party vying for the reins of the country.
People should not only question parties about what they have planned to make the public’s life better and hold governments accountable throughout their tenure on the promises they had made in their manifesto.
They should ask what policies and plans has the government made to shield people from miseries; what they planned to stop people from murdering their children and partners, and committing suicide; to provide them employment in the country so that they don’t fall prey to human traffickers; to protect the rights of vulnerable groups like religious minorities; allocating funds to provide basic health and education.
But this is too much to ask. Voters are indifferent, which is quite dangerous for society and the country. The only beneficiaries are those in power.
However, it would make an interesting study to see why there is so much public indifference. One reason for this could be the unnatural public devotion to political leaders, some of whom have become demigods. Devotees flock around them regardless of their flaws. It is almost as if they are members of a cult – a political cult. They follow their leader with blank minds, no queries, or interests of their own, believing the mere presence of the leader will solve everything.
This is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan or global politics, political cult behaviour takes root over years, weakening a conscious society and forcing it to stop asking questions. It has also damaged the political process and democracy itself.
Like other cults political cults revolve around a personality and their agenda, with followers believing everything and anything, even if it is detrimental to the very structure of society.
Commenting on the political cult behaviour, Bethany Burum, a research scientist in psychology who teaches a Harvard course on cult behaviour, said in an interview (The Harvard Gazette):
“Cults manage to shift people’s beliefs rapidly away from the broader society and away from the beliefs they had before they joined. The second thing I emphasize is that cult members act against their own interests and their families’ interests quite strikingly.”
Pakistan’s political history is a good example cult politics throughout the decades – one person calling the shots devoutly followed by thousands of people from the entire social spectrum and different backgrounds.
The cult followers don’t care about the larger consequences that directly affect their lives, all they care about are the leader’s words and promises that hold an almost divine value for them. If their leader fails to fulfill a promise, the devotees blame the failure on other forces because their political (cult) leader cannot do wrong.
And it doesn’t help that the political (cult) leaders provide quick fixes that are temporary but enough to reinforce their powers among the followers.
Unfortunately, decades of political cults in Pakistan have done nothing to improve the society and bring prosperity to the people. It has only damaged the social psyche and ingrained hopelessness in the people forcing them to wait for the next and ‘real’ messiah. And begin following anyone who promises to break the status quo but never intended to do so.
Pakistani voters seem to have reached a certain level of complacency that allows them to tolerate the superficial political claims from inefficient people running the country in the name of politics. They rather watch an argument around the allocation of political symbols than worry about what their leader(s) has promised them. It seems they rather believe in miracles than expect change, as that has never really worked out for them.
It will take decades for the voter to understand the importance of the written manifesto and that actions speak louder than political symbols.
