EDITORIAL: When national elections are to be held is a given unless a sitting government decides to go for early polls. In this ever struggling democracy, however, nothing is for sure.
Whilst speculations abound about a possible delay in general elections, speaking at an event on Wednesday Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held out the assurance that his coalition government would step down on the completion of the National Assembly’s term i.e., on August 12, but wouldn’t specify the general election date except that they will be held in October or November, as decided by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Indeed, it is for ECP to give the election date but only after the government makes up its mind when to dissolve the assembly, which is when the countdown to the polling day starts.
As per the Constitution, if the National Assembly is dissolved on the expiry of its five-year term, elections must be held no later than 60 days, and in case of an early dissolution –even by a few days— that period extends to 90 days. Hence the PM mentioned two different months for the eagerly awaited electoral exercise. Apparently, he has yet to consult his coalition partners whether or not to stay on a bit longer.
Be that as it may, it does not matter if the elections are held in October or November as long as all concerned adhere to the constitutionally stipulated timeline. As it stands, all political parties are preparing for the electoral contest. In fact, PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman grumbled the day that following the PTI (Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf) government’s ouster he had advised his allied parties to call fresh election, albeit in vain. Things can still go wrong.
Some stakeholders in the recently conducted digital population census, especially those in Sindh, are unhappy with the result. That though should not be a hindrance considering the Constitution allows for general elections on the basis of the last census.
Nonetheless, the ECP whose responsibility it is to announce the balloting schedule does not inspire much confidence after it violated the constitutional requirement to hold elections to the dissolved Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies on May 12 2023.
It could do that again using one or another excuse, such as needing more time for delimitation of the constituencies. That would be unacceptable. If the elections can be held on the basis of previous census, the same should apply to defining electoral constituencies.
Meanwhile, rumours are rife that the caretaker setup to be installed at the close of the National Assembly will stay for an indeterminate duration. Lending them credence are the caretaker governments in Punjab and KP in place far beyond their mandate.
The ruling PDM coalition parties bear some of the blame for the manner the constitutional order has been undermined. Before they get a taste of the same medicine they must take a strong stand against any machinations that may be in the works to postpone the elections.
Free and fair elections must be held on time, ending political uncertainly adversely impacting the economy and making life that much harder for the people. Any inordinate delay would have destructive consequences for the already messed up democratic process.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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