The 1985 partyless elections ended the era of the vote, replacing it with the note (money). It is an irony that individuals who entered the political arena to earn notes are now demanding the Vote ki Izzat (Sanctity of Votes). We, the students of the 1960s and 1970s struggled to get our right of vote from the first usurper. The power of vote prevailed for the first and unfortunately the last time, as since then every election has been disputed. In the checkered political history of Pakistan only the PML(N) has been able to win such absolute control of the parliament mainly because of the power of ‘Note’, not ‘Vote’.

Source: Pakistan Today August 11, 2021 18:45 UTC