This weekend Pakistanis gave a shut up call to all those who said democracy cannot thrive in the country. Although the official turnout in the 2013 General Elections has not been announced yet, if one goes by the statement of ECP Chairman Fakhruddin Ibrahim, about sixty percent of voters turned up at the stations.
This would be higher than the average turnout about 58 percent in India in its last three elections, and a tad lower than the average turnout (61 percent) of the last three elections in the UK.
Understandably, voter turnout is not the only, nor the best barometer of any democracy. But, the fact that Pakistani voters braved the scorching May heat as well as terrorist threats is a loud and visible sign that the people of this country value democracy, even in its limited and limping form.
The countrys first-ever smooth transition from one elected government to another was not as smooth as one would want it to be.
There were a couple of bomb blasts and other violence that claimed several lives. While there is no doubt that these were unfortunate events, it is heartening to note that the security problems were not as bad as initially feared.
Also, there were several reports of rigging across the country, leading to election boycott by five parties in Karachi and a re-polling due in one of its major constituencies, NA-250.
Yet the fact that no major party has completely boycotted the elections, nor has any party threatened to go on an indefinite strike is a sign that the democratic process will not be derailed and the sanctity of the election will be held.
That the elections 2013 produced a third major force in Pakistani politics, the PTI, is also another positive development, which proves that the inherent cleansing mechanism of democracy has started to function in the country. This is also supported by the fact that voters in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa thrashed away PPP and ANP, respectively, on account of bad governance.
Lastly, to those doomsayers until last year who thought that bad governance and economic mismanagement in Pakistan will lead to chaos and revolution along the lines of the Arab Spring: Pakistans smooth transition to democracy is a testament that its citizens do not necessarily have to create havoc to bring about their spring; they can always use the ballot paper instead.