Pakistan General Elections 2018: Clear Signs of a Guided Democracy

DOI10.1177/0020881718803433
Date01 July 2018
AuthorAjay Darshan Behera
Published date01 July 2018
Subject MatterArticles
Pakistan General
Elections 2018:
Clear Signs of a
Guided Democracy
Ajay Darshan Behera1
Abstract
Pakistan’s general elections held in July 2018 led to the smooth transition of
power for the second time from one elected government to another. However,
the elections were marred by serious allegations of manipulation of the electoral
process by the military. The results were on predicted lines—a hung assembly
in which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged with the highest seats.
While Imran Khan’s political journey has been a remarkable one, he inherits a
country, which has become difficult to govern and faces a very difficult economic
situation. Pakistan’s second successful democratic transition shows clear signs of
the emergence of a political system in which the military may just be happy with
a form of guided democracy—a formal democratic structure maintained and
legitimized by elections. Even if Imran Khan has come to power as a result of the
manipulation by the military establishment, he cannot be taken for granted in the
civil–military equation.
Keywords
Pakistan, general elections, democracy, Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif, civil–military
relations
Introduction
Pakistan held its 11th general elections on 25 July 2018. This was only the second
time in the history of Pakistan that transfer of power from one elected government—
which had completed its tenure—to another took place. The first time it took place
Article
International Studies
55(3) 238–252
2018 Jawaharlal Nehru University
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0020881718803433
http://journals.sagepub.com/home/isq
1 Professor, Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.
Corresponding author:
Ajay Darshan Behera, Professor, Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
110025, India.
E-mail: adbehera@gmail.com

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