Pakistan joined the long list of South Asian nations holding an election this year. Unlike the others, Pakistan’s election, held on February 8 this year, defied our expectations. In Bangladesh, the unfree and unfair election expected by all observers, and even by the jailed opposition, was exactly what happened, and the country continued on its path to full-fledged authoritarian rule. In India, the month-long election going on now looks pretty certain to re-elect Modi and the BJP. In the Maldives election in April, there was only mild surprise that a party favoring closer relations with China won a peaceful election.