Now that all necessary arrangements are claimed to have been made for the first phase of local government polls for 3,074 union councils, doubts and misgivings, to the contrary, earlier expressed in certain quarters, have also been allayed to a considerable extent, enabling some 33 million male and female voters to exercise their right of franchise in 54 districts of the country, one had every reason to hope that the process, commencing on August 18, would be completed without any untoward development, let or hindrance.
However, as ill luck would have it, too many shifts and changes suddenly made in the rules, procedures and physical arrangements for the so far efficient preparations, not only baffle the voters and election staff but give rise to uncertainties about the ultimate intentions of the authorities.
This, indeed, is besides the opposition charges of pre-poll rigging, which are always heard at election time. As for fears of violence, these too will be seen to have been addressed in time, understandably, to the satisfaction of the general public, through identification of sensitive areas, and adoption of suitable measures to ensure against violence.
The change of mind in certain matters and the surprising timing of decisions suggested a state of commotion in the government or the administrative set-up, for perhaps imaginary reasons. Take the confusion caused about the closure of schools.
According to an earlier announcement the schools were to remain closed only in those areas where elections were to be held on August 18, in the first instance. Much later, an announcement was made about the closure of all the schools on August 17 and 18 and, 24 and 25 as holidays.
That finally ended the confusion, though not in time for the students who, unaware of the announcement, turned up at the schools as usual. Perhaps such muddles arise, generally speaking, from unrealistic perceptions of normal public life on the election day, which the government had tried to ensure.
The Sindh Government added more to the confusion regarding holidays. First a notification was issued to close down offices under its control on August 18th. Later, in the day another notification was issued under the Factories Act to shut down industrial units and affiliated offices as well. Government officials and teachers were requisitioned for election duty weeks ago.
They took training and upon completion of the training course were awarded certificates. Obviously, the departmental heads in the government must have also made alternate arrangements for the offices to function on Thursday. Most countries do not allow disruption of normal life for elections. The economy keeps working. Sadly, we continue with knee-jerk decisions instead of having forward planning of any kind.
The worst to happen to the economy was late on August 17, when the State Bank on the directive of the Election Commission of Pakistan, ordered closure of all its offices, commercial banks, and development finance institutions (DFIs) on Thursday, August 18, and Friday, August 25, in the districts where local government elections are being held. The SBP decision resulted in the closure of the three stock exchanges of the country, and the settlement scheduled to take place on Thursday was merged with the settlement to be held on Friday, August 19, leading to the difference in COT premium rates to be adjusted in course of time. What it would cost to the banking system of the country seems to have escaped the calculations of the Election Commission.
The order for closure came at a time when the banks and DFIs, mostly with head offices in Karachi, had finalised TTs and pay orders for August 18. More to it, the banking operations do not end up inside the country, but also extend to transactions internationally.
A break in such transactions cannot but have an adverse effect on the chain of financial arrangements world wide. The operations of the banks have little to do with the whims and administrative exigencies of the government or of any of its institutions.
Instead, these are governed essentially by the Negotiable Instruments Act. Of this aspect of the situation, the Election Commission seems to have been oblivious too long. From all indications, it awakened to the need of bank closure without going into its pre-requisites and ramifications. Unprecedented as it was in the history of banking in the country, it might have sent quite a negative message about the country's banking system to the world. Did the officialdom realise that important business meetings with foreign visitors were scheduled for Thursday? These visitors were told the evening before that their business meetings or visits to factories stood cancelled due to elections. The hosts must looked like fools to them for not knowing well in advance about business closures. Elections are not natural disasters that are not known in advance. The whole episode boils down to the inescapable necessity of redefining the status and responsibilities of the Election Commission that can take independent decisions regardless of the whims of the ruling elite.