Pakistan and Bangladesh in transition

The demand for a caretaker government reflects distrust between the political parties.

In South Asia, election results are often contested by the losing parties. Most countries in the region have instituted election commissions to conduct free and fair polls. Except for Bhutan, where election expenditure is provided by the state, in other countries, the parties or the candidates themselves have to foot the bill. South Asian history is filled with the people’s incessant quest to establish democracy. Yet this aspiration gets undermined if the election process is not free and fair.