ABSTRACT
Free and fair elections and the electoral system of any country play a pivotal role in strengthening democracy and democratic norms. Unfortunately, each and every election in Pakistan has been marred with ‘engineered rigging’. In Pakistan, the first general election took place 23 years after independence. Frequently, the country has witnessed military coups. Military regimes did their best to encourag defection within the ranks of political parties. The missing intra-party democracy turned them into personality-centric parties. Consequenty, political parties failed to perform their designated role. Phenomenal political manipulation by the ever-strong military and civil establishment could easily be traced in Pakistan. Also, Pakistan’s unique geostrategic location invited major world powers to influence its political system to secure their own ulterior objectives. Moreover, electoral history is rich in terms of defections and betrayals. This chapter reviews the emerging electoral trends from various perspectives in order to identify how a weak political system lacking charismatic and selfless leadership could lead the nation towards destruction and dependence on external resources.
