The results of the recently concluded local government elections should be an eye opener for most political parties in the country. The results also highlight the fact that at the moment the country is in desperate need of a national political party with strong support in all provinces. In the local government elections held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claimed most seats, however, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF), Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) all won a decent number of seats. In Punjab it was expected that there would be tough competition between PMLN and PTI, however in all three phases of the local government elections in Punjab PMLN emerged as the single largest party in the province and routed the PTI. Independent candidates also won a large number of seats in Punjab but there was no sign of PPP in the province except a few seats. In Sindh, the PPP dominated in the rural areas however it was dealt a huge blow with the Zulfiqar Mirza backed candidates winning in convincing fashion. Similarly in the urban areas of Sindh particularly in Karachi the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) should its utter dominance. The PPP could not even show any signification performance in its traditional strong hold of Lyari. The much talked about electoral alliance of PTI and Jamat-e-Islami (JI) also failed miserably perform in Karachi. The results once again prove the much emphasized fact that in the current scenario Pakistan’s democracy lacks a truly national party that has the ability to field candidates across the country and win seats. PMLN has strengthened its position but other parties need to do far better to rise to the challenge.
There is a desperate need of a national party in Pakistani politics.