Electoral politics
The victory of PML-N candidate Shaista Pervaiz Malik in the recent Lahore by-election was not surprising. The only surprise was that no big fuss was made about rigging and fraud.…
Electoral politics in Punjab
While it may seem like there is still a long way to go, two years is not really too far away before the scheduled elections in 2023. The last year…
Pakistani politics’ enfant terrible
THE en masse resignation of PTI MNAs, except for the dissidents, from the National Assembly is not surprising. It is in character with former prime minister Imran Khan’s maverick style of politics.…
India’s polarized electoral maze
India is going through its 18th Lok Sabha elections and as the Modi government enters the bare-knuckle contest against the 26-party INDIA alliance led by the Congress, the contest is…
Virtual politics
Irrespective of who won or lost, if this election has given one single lesson to the political class all over Pakistan, it is this: you cannot ignore Millennials and Gen…
Fixing politics by non-political means
Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a September 2006 coup and subsequently convicted of corruption, is back in the country after years in exile. His party…
Electoral reforms
A joint session of parliament passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2023 last week. Through this bill, the coalition government has made 54 amendments in the Election Act 2017, most of…
IMF versus vote politics
In political science, economic voting is a theoretical perspective which argues that voter behavior is heavily influenced by the economic conditions in the country at the time of the election. According to this perspective, voters tend to vote…
Politics of lies
A political party in Pakistan with specific political objectives is hell-bent on snatching these objectives by inciting public resentment and trying to erode trust in Pakistan’s critical institutions. The party…
Principled politics, anyone?
When on May 14, 2006 – nearly 17 years ago – the Charter of Democracy (CoD) was signed between Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, both were in…
