The Supreme Court (SC) recently dismissed several petitions contesting the 2013 elections forvari-ous deficiencies. Interestingly just before the 2013 elections the SC ordered the defective electoral rolls to be corrected, because of time constraints the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was instructed to go ahead with the elec- tions, verification of voters being mandated for Karachi only. Such anomalies added to the suspicions and allegations about electoral rigging, culminating in the present protests. On Mar 19, 2014, the SC ordered the long overdue "Local Bodies" elections be completed by Aug 18, 2014, only Balochistan complied. Almost three months after that timeline has expired, feudal pressure has kept democracy from functioning at the grassroots level.
展开▼
