Vantage | Why Pak polls aren't about democracy in action but one in free fall

In Pakistan, the countdown is on, as election campaigning ended Tuesday. Now it is all up to the voters of Pakistan, or, one should say, the army of Pakistan.We know that every election is a battle of faces, and in Pakistan, you have three: Imran Khan of the PTI, Nawaz Sharif of the Muslim League, and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari of the PPP.Of course, there's a fourth face, and that is army chief Asim Munir. But why list the puppet master with the puppets? So let's leave him out.As aforesaid, Imran Khan is in jail, so his campaigning has been through artificial intelligence. The other two have hit the trail. Bilawal had a rally in Karachi on Monday; he toured the city in an open truck, and the turnaround was impressive.Until last year, Bhutto was allied with the Sharifs; together, they had toppled Imran Khan. But Bhutto doesn't want a repeat. He says he won't be foreign minister if Nawaz Sharif wins the elections, not unless Sharif breaks the old politics—the politics of revenge—amen!Sharif's last rally was on Tuesday, and the whole family lined up on stage in Kasur. It's a city south of Lahore. Again, the turnout was quite impressive. Sharif's pitch was all about Pakistan's youth. Around 44 percent of the voters are under 35 years of age. So Sharif turned on the charm to woo them.On Thursday, Pakistani voters will head to the polls. Pakistan has 128 million voters. But chances are, a lot of them won't turn up. Turnout is traditionally low there. In 2018, it was just over 51 percent. The voting age is the same as here in India: 18 years.More than 5,100 candidates are in the fray. Most of them are men, with only 312 women contesting this time. Some 167 political parties are registered. Their candidates are fighting for 266 seats in parliament. Finally, more than 90,000 polling stations have been set up. Around half have been declared 'sensitive', and about 18 thousand are ‘highly sensitive’.Meaning there is a risk of violence or attacks. As a result, major deployments are being planned. Some 650, 000 security personnel will oversee the elections.In terms of issues, the economy comes first. Pakistan's inflation is almost 30 percent. The country is hurtling from one IMF bailout to the next. So every voter has the same complaint that they can barely make ends meet.The second issue is Imran Khan; his supporters will use this election to seek revenge, maybe to spring a surprise. But logistically, it will be tough because Imran Khan's party has lost its election symbol—the cricket bat. So most of his candidates are contesting as independents. Their support could be crucial.Finally, for the last issue—rigging of elections—one can expect a lot of it on Thursday. Pakistanis themselves know what to expect. Polling agency Gallup surveyed 1,000 Pakistani adults last year, and as much as 70 percent of them did not trust the elections. They don't think it will be free or fair. So the real question is: what is the point of this sham? One major player is in jail, the other was also in jail, and the third's biggest asset is his last name.Forget democracy in action; here, democracy is in free fall.Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.