General elections seem to be a far cry. The lethargy that is at work and the excuses behind which the electoral watchdog, and other relevant organs of the state, are hiding point towards an indefinite delay. One thing is clear and that is the polls are not being held within the constitutionally mandated 90 days after the dissolution of the legislatures. More worrisome is the case of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces where caretakers are at the helm of affairs for more than nine months, after having defied the apex court’s ruling for timely ballot. In such a scenario, the hopes that January 2024 will see people go to the polls after the fresh delimitation of the constituencies is nothing more than another wild guess.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar’s recent statement that the date for polls will be announced soon comes with a pinch of salt. Likewise, many of the political parties, including the PPP, are now eager to see elections held as soon as possible, and this comes as a rude shock as it is these very same PDM coalition partners who looked the other way round when they were seized with a decision to hold a ballot in Punjab and K-P. The PML-N seems to be looking at other horizons as it is more obsessed with a preferential treatment its leadership is being given. This has now become a point of contention too as the Prime Minister himself was uncomfortable in making sense as to why elder Sharif is over the hook.
Pakistan cannot withstand this political instability any longer. The uncertainty on polls in the corridors of power must end. The Election Commission must leap forward by abandoning an exigency cult to address the real mandate of the constitutional body i.e. to hold elections in a free, fair and transparent manner, and that too within the lawful timeframe. This is where people and time will judge the men who are holding the reins of ECP as to whether they faltered or not.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2023.
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