The sanctity of 'voter'

As Bill Murray said about voters "So if we lie to the government it is a felony, if they lie to us it is politics". That is how the world understands and unfortunately accepts politics. Promises made and promises kept are mutually exclusive. The license given to a politician to pursue votes before the elections and let the voter pursue you after the elections is almost a given. The word "politics" is a seven-letter word with almost the same connotation as a four letter word. Thus leaders produced by the political system, with a few rare examples, are generally leaders who are better forgotten or remembered with disdain.
The present campaign that the government is running on respect the vote is very apt. That is a prime requirement of a democratic system where the vote is the reason for the government's existence. However, the problem in Pakistan is that the vote has always been the easiest thing to manipulate and change in the realms of the ballot box. What the voter wants and makes choices and where the vote appears has not quite matched in the last four decades. Nearly every analyst and expert in Pakistan agrees that after 1970 no election truly represents the choices of the voter. In 2013, all political parties, including the ruling parties in all provinces and the federal government, agreed that it was one of the most rigged elections in the history of Pakistan. Another problem is the set pattern that when the government is in place all by-elections and local bodies' elections are mostly won by it. These patterns and trends fair or foul are part of "politics".
The focus on democracy in Pakistan is very welcome and a must-have political ideology. But behind the ideology the focus should be not just on how to get the numbers in your favour but how to serve your voters by fulfilling their needs so that the numbers become a byproduct of the voter satisfaction. It is this disparity between getting votes without voter satisfaction that has been the reason why the country has regressed to be the least developed country in the region being beaten by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan on most development indices. Thus, when a sitting government that has come to power the third time and has been ruling the largest province in Pakistan, ie, Punjab seven times, and still complains that the vote needs to be respected, it sounds confusing.
Winning constituencies and winning the heart and minds of the constituents are two different mindsets. The fact that promises are made to the voter only to be broken is nothing new. Making Pakistan free of debt and free of loadshedding were the two big promises made by PML-N to the voter. The reverse is true. More debt in this government's term has been accumulated than in any government term in the history of Pakistan. The total external debt and liabilities of Pakistan stood end December 2017 at $88.9 billion which has exceeded all estimates. Loadshedding is back with a vengeance with a shortfall of 5500 MWs at the beginning of summer. No amount of video replays of promises of 6 months to 2 years etc of finishing loadshedding make the politicians uncomfortable because the rigged system of assuring votes is stronger than the preferences of voters.
In the private sector customer-service mantra which ensures sustainability of a company is through the best practice of "Customer is the king". The customer rules, the company bends and serves every need of the customer, only then the business survives. Ideally, the constituency is the market of the vote seeking candidate and the voter has the power to accept or reject the candidate based on his or her performance. However, the opposite prevails. The candidate is the king and the voters beg and plead him/her to fulfill his or her promises as the voter power to vote is restricted by constituency stakeholders like the landholders, the influentials and the power brokering institutions like police and bureaucracy of the constituency.
This skewed political system makes the politician treat the public funds as his personal money that is blatantly misused for personal expense. Thus the "give respect to the vote" slogan seems hollow when you compare it with the way public funds and trust have been disrespected so flagrantly.A sad example of this "disrespect" is the status given to the former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. He is facing a corruption case in an accountability court for increase in assets of 90 time more than his sources of income. He has fled the country and is declared an absconder. Though we have a new finance minister, Ishaq Dar remains a federal minister which means a salary of Rs 200,000 and Rs 3 million in benefits per month on taxpayer's expense is still being given to him while he has also been re-elected as a senator thus drawing another Rs 100,000 per month plus benefits accruing into his account. In 6 months almost Rs 20 million of public funds have been given to a person who has betrayed public trust and is not willing to come back and fight his case.
Public funds are for public benefits. The present government has discovered a way of making the public pay for all their personal expenses. The Sharif family has several residences in Lahore and they are conveniently converted into camp offices of the government to pay off Sharif family expense through taxpayer money. Two private residences of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif were converted into camp offices due to the "security situation". The budget for these facilities last year was Rs 572.5 million. Another Rs 430 million were released for renovating Murree House for SAARC conference that never happened. This half a billion rupee budget on personal houses and residences that only the high-ups use for rest and leisure is another example of the complete disregard of the misuse of public office and a betrayal of public trust.
To truly respect the vote the role reversal must take place. All the King's horses and all the king's men must treat the voter as a customer who needs to be understood, served and satisfied. The mindset of "Voter is the King" is the crux behind giving ultimate regard and respect to the person who has the power to stamp you in and out of government.