THE elections of 2013 may have been historic, but Pakistan still has a long way to go before a truly democratic culture takes root in the country. After all, polls here from general elections to more local exercises are still marred by controversy, particularly when it comes to allegations of rigging and malpractice.

That Pakistan`s electoral machinery is far from perfect is true; even ECP officials have admitted as much. One example of how elections can go wrong even in relatively smaller organisations compared to the district or provincial levelwas witnessed in the recently held polls for the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi. As a picture, published in Dawn`s Metro South section showed, election material was being hauled away by officials under the watchful eye of Rangers` personnel. Controversy erupted after one panel accused its rivals of rigging, which resulted in the election commissioner concerned taking away the ballot boxes.

This disputed election and the picture in question symbolises two things. Firstly, while the military has rightly been criticised for interfering with the democratic process throughout Pakistan`s history, it is also true that civilians, perhaps due to their mistrust of each other, are of ten the first to call for the involvement of the men in khaki in electoral and governance affairs. Secondly, civilians have not done enough to strengthen the democratic culture in this country. For example, on Monday, the ECP secretary told senators that the recently held LG polls in Islamabad, Sindh and Punjab were `flawed`. According to him, the staff was not trained, while some presiding officers were apparently biased. The judiciary was also criticised for its involvement in electoral affairs. And who is responsible for these flaws? Clearly, all the stakeholders particularly the ECP and the political parties, on both sides of the aisle have much to answer for. Unless the stakeholders lead the way in ushering in deep-rooted, systematic electoral reforms and promoting a democratic culture, elections, from the national to local level, will continue to be controversial affairs.