The democratic dream in the Land of the Pure

Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the moderate Islamic party Muslim League-N, won the elections held on Saturday 11 May, 2013, becoming the only Pakistani politician to hold the position of prime minister for an unprecedented third term.

Although as we write investigation of possible irregularities in the ballot count is still ongoing, Sharif has a large enough majority to establish a stable government and avoid having his hands tied by a grand coalition. The success of the Lion of Punjab, as the strong man of the PML-N is known, lies not so much in his third term, as his being the first politician since the birth of the Pakistani nation 66 years ago to achieve success in back to back democratic elections, without an interim military dictatorship. The run up to these historical elections has been highly emotional, due to a very hard fought electoral campaign that has gripped the entire population.

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