Since we hear of/witness so much corruption in the electoral process, what other secure/alternative means could we possibly implement in the country?
What if our citizens were able to register their votes secretly…online or something…I’d love to run a parallel process somehow to see how the results would vary.
Re: Alternative Voting Process
Online voting would not work in a country like Pakistan. I would say that bring in your local masjids and imams in the picture. Our local imams are some of the finest people of our communities and general population trust them a lot. What if we have an unofficial and parallel voting system going on within our mosques.
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I think what we need is an election commission that is SINCERE in creating corruption-free electoral process. Somebody really WANTING to do good.
If this spirit is missing then no matter what we do, people will find loop-holes.
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Well said :k:
Very good idea TLK sahaab, however not all Imams are un-corruptible so it’s also something that can be rigged but it’s a very Islamic election and perfectly democratic too… perhaps time has come for the Islamic revolution again… 
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Outsource the election process to Indian election commission.
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They are even worse than us… i hold no faith in an electoral commision which is part of a Government system whose latest census will show principles and divisions along Caste.
I’t would be like outsourcing to the Taliban… 
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we need to make our system more democratic. Two branches of the exceutive are currently not directly elected, i.e. the senate and he president. The elected members of the national and provincial assemblies do that. Both of these should be directly elected by the people. This would result in less manupliation of who comes to power in those centres. At the moment the party in majority in the assemblies elects their own people and than manipulate the whole system to their advantage. A directly elected Senate and president would result in much more check and balances than is currently practiced.
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Democracy is a great thing and i am in favour of pure democracy, but it's not the only thing and sometimes it's flawwed becuase by putting all your eggs in one basket the results can also be disastrous.
In an ideal situation democracy is great and it can work in Pakistan but for it to succeed we need a mass consensus on core issues.
Otherwise as history has proven if the mistake is made by not giving voice to a few who may be right in thier views, you risk alienating them totally and this can be counter productive.
Democracy in it's purest form is brilliant but when it's watered down then it's virtually impossible for it to have any purpose.
The contemporary example is when democracy failed on the Iraq war, the world made a mockery of democracy when majority of the people wanted no war... it still happened.
I'm not a fassadi or a supporter of extremist terrorists.... but i am a man who recognises the serious need for diplomacy and why we must look for as many options as possbile and even search for new ways out of political swamps.
Theres nothing wrong with looking at alternative ways. At the end of the day i will supporter whatever is best for my country.
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Let me say at the risk of seeming ridiculous that people should not be given right to vote. Or at least to the point when every single citizen is educated enough to understand what is right and what is wrong. One can't expect from villagers or people from interior areas to make a clear decision because neither they are literate enough to shape it nor they have the full exposure of the government policies as compared to the one lives in capital areas.
What i think in the context of Iqbal's poetry
"Jamhoriat aik tarz'e'hukumat he jis me
bundo ko ginna karte he to'ula nahi karte"
is, a faction of highly educated person from every field should be picked to decide the President and other ministers(through voting within themselves) based on their work, Experience, skill and abilities, rather then allowing people to vote on the whole.
And to select the group of people for this, Heads of Independent Government + Private Institution such as Juidiciary, Military, Education, Ullemas, Technology etc should come up to nominate their best individuals of the field to select the further political hierarchy of Pakistan.
Though, a peculiar solution but once its implemented it will make its impact everywhere :D
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I totally disagree with you…
I think that is a very dim view of the nations poor and largely patriotic majority…not only is your idea alarmingly eliteist but it’s also very inhuman.
Many a great human was totally uneducated and still succeded you have taken Iqbal out of context as well. 
Like i said earlier democracy can work but your view here is an example of why it has not worked in Pakistan.
This sort of view is what drives men to revolution… and it’s not a good view.
It’s almost akin to the Talabanic way of thinking both are not inclusive of people who do not hold a simmilar view to the Establishment.
Believe me the impact will be very negative if you dont pick the candidates wisely. neglect the people and the people will neglect you.
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how about something like live voting,one constituency at a time,gathering all the voters in a stadium,with each voter dressed in the colour allocated to the party he ought to vote for by the election commission and showing numbers in this way to the live audience
cant come up with something more fair
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Thats a little impractical… but it’s not a bad idea :k:
In fact its a very smart plan actually but then again i dont think our silly kaum will do much except lead to a shortage of dyed cloth as some idiots start wearing multicolours… 
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Forget any form of a proper democratic electoral system when less than 30% of the population can read and write.
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The way voting is done in Pakistan , they should use a balti instead of sealed boxes.
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Since we hear of/witness so much corruption in the electoral process, what other secure/alternative means could we possibly implement in the country?
What if our citizens were able to register their votes secretly......online or something......I'd love to run a parallel process somehow to see how the results would vary.
When people in country like USA were fighting for and against computerized voting 5/6 years ago, you think its possible to implement any sort of alternate voting in Pakistan?
All we need is INDEPENDENT Election Commission who is not answerable to Govt and whose commissioner is not Govt appointed.
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Agreed with Delhi 6.
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I agree with you (in bold) .. but most of the local imams are fine people. Plus I suggest that we hold our elections in Ramadan and voting should happen after Friday Prayers. Very little people have nerves and guts to do anything illegal inside masjid in the month of Ramadan on Friday.
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General elections supervised and controlled by the Pakistan Army… 
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Very little people have nerves and guts to do anything illegal inside masjid in the month of Ramadan on Friday.
But then it takes only a few hoodlums to disrupt and corrupt the whole process.
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But then it takes only a few hoodlums to disrupt and corrupt the whole process.
but that can happen any where - so given all places have equal risks, masjids might be the best place to hold voting.