Pakistan Affairs
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How religious does your party have to be to win an election in Pakistan?
Religious parties like JI or JUI have never won enough votes in Pakistan, a country founded in the name of Islam. Is it the will of the people or the influence of electables that dictates electoral success?
Umair Rasheed
February 7, 2024
Why have, say, the Jamaat-i-Islami or the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s Samiul Haq never won enough votes to form the national government on their own in Pakistan? We are, after all, a country that was created in the name of Islam. Shouldn’t religious parties win more votes?
Two major reasons to explain this: The will of the people of Pakistan has to be accounted for. You ignore popular concerns such as the prices of petrol, potatoes, and power at your peril. Then you have to factor in those who control the levers of the Pakistani state and society. The powers-that-be play an outsized role in the electoral battlefield with their constituency-level lieutenants (read: electable politicians, who can sway election results one way or the other depending on the muscle of their biradari or the depth of their pockets).
Whoever wants to form the government must either have the blessings of the puppet masters, or be able to harness enough popular endorsement by personifying the will of the people. From Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to Imran Khan, however, none of the mainstream leaders have managed to unlock the second route to power. Thus, the tried-and-tested ingredient to forming a national government is electables who can reach the right numbers.
There are over two dozen religious political parties registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan. They all share the goal of Sharia-based governance. Some of them, such as the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam — Fazl (JUI-F) and the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have wisened up, which means they may do well on February 8. The JUI-F stands out for its Deoband lineage, its sway over the Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, and its consistent electoral successes in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan.
Religious parties like JI or JUI have never won enough votes in Pakistan, a country founded in the name of Islam. Is it the will of the people or the influence of electables that dictates electoral success?
Umair Rasheed
February 7, 2024
Why have, say, the Jamaat-i-Islami or the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s Samiul Haq never won enough votes to form the national government on their own in Pakistan? We are, after all, a country that was created in the name of Islam. Shouldn’t religious parties win more votes?
Two major reasons to explain this: The will of the people of Pakistan has to be accounted for. You ignore popular concerns such as the prices of petrol, potatoes, and power at your peril. Then you have to factor in those who control the levers of the Pakistani state and society. The powers-that-be play an outsized role in the electoral battlefield with their constituency-level lieutenants (read: electable politicians, who can sway election results one way or the other depending on the muscle of their biradari or the depth of their pockets).
Whoever wants to form the government must either have the blessings of the puppet masters, or be able to harness enough popular endorsement by personifying the will of the people. From Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to Imran Khan, however, none of the mainstream leaders have managed to unlock the second route to power. Thus, the tried-and-tested ingredient to forming a national government is electables who can reach the right numbers.
There are over two dozen religious political parties registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan. They all share the goal of Sharia-based governance. Some of them, such as the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam — Fazl (JUI-F) and the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have wisened up, which means they may do well on February 8. The JUI-F stands out for its Deoband lineage, its sway over the Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, and its consistent electoral successes in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan.
