Hybrid Governance and Democratic Fragility in Pakistan: A Post-2024 Election Analysis

Abstract

The 2024 general elections in Pakistan were not just a battle between political parties; they marked a pivotal moment in Pakistan’s history of constitutional democracy versus hybrid governance. Despite the formal structure of the election, the nature of the political context generated a range of concerns regarding the fairness of the electoral system, political inclusion, institutional neutrality, media freedom, judicial independence, and the role of non-elected power centers. This paper explores the influence of hybrid governance on the Fragility of democracy in Pakistan after the 2024 elections. The study is conducted using a qualitative document-analysis approach, which is based on election reports, human rights assessments, documentation on the freedom of the media, rule-of-law indicators, and scholarly literature published until 2024. The paper contends that Pakistan’s democratic dysfunction has created a phenomenon that needs to be analysed beyond election day irregularities and post-poll conflicts. Instead, it identifies a more fundamental structural issue whereby elected institutions are embedded in a political system that is dominated by unelected institutions, especially the military, security institutions, courts, the bureaucracy, and electoral institutions. The study reveals that for the 2024 election, democracy was even further endangered by a decrease in democratic legitimacy, a growth of political polarization, a shrinking of civic space, a rise in public distrust, and a reaffirmation of the perception of an electoral system that is managed. The paper concludes that merely holding elections every so often is not enough to consolidate the democratic process in Pakistan. It demands civilian supremacy, credible electoral reform, judicial independence, freedom for the media, autonomy for parliament, maturity of the party system, and constitutional rights protection.