Even if it may not seem so, winning is the easy part for successful parties in countries that undergo periodic electoral exercises to win political mandates from the public for governance. Translating these mandates from projected progress to actual socioeconomic development is harder.

This is the global year of elections like few others in recent memory. Over 60 countries, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in South Asia, will hold national polls and elect new governments in 2024 – an average of more than one per week!

Twitter: In Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka the people have signaled that they don’t want ruling families in power in perpetuity. And yet, these families are just not ready to take the hint, writes Adnan Rehmat

Most global media and many influential capital cities are not paying much attention to the South Asian region in a news cycle dominated by the never-ending US-China political and economic conflicts and the bruising Russia-Ukraine military war.