Losing with grace

In Pakistan, no party – or individual – that is defeated in an election concedes in a graceful manner. Because everyone indulges in corrupt practices, nobody concedes when they lose. It is no wonder that people are cynical of the electoral process. This attitude of crying foul play has even crept into our attitude toward defeat in other domains such as sports. If we ever lose a match, people immediately start making claims, ranging from a grand conspiracy against Pakistan to match-fixing.

Given that all the opposition parties have rejected electronic voting machines (EVMs), the machines will do little to build trust of the people in the electoral process. The political leadership of the country must first change its attitude and set an example of conceding defeat with grace. As long as our leaders keep blaming loss on rigging, people are not going to trust whatever method of elections is used.

Raja Shafaatullah

Islamabad