ELECTORAL and democratic processes would definitely be gainers after the decision of the opposition to contest bye-elections for National and Provincial Assemblies, schedule of which has already been announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). There was confusion whether or not ultimately the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would contest the election in the backdrop of its protest movement as well as intention of resigning from the legislatures but sanity prevailed at the meeting of the leaders of the alliance in Lahore, who decided to contest bye-elections but refrained from taking a collective decision on the issue of contesting Senate elections.
There is nothing final in politics and players continue to assess the fast-changing scenarios and adjust their positions accordingly. There were, of course, some parties within the opposition that wanted to stay away from the electoral process but others apparently prevailed and as a result the decision to contest elections is the consensus one. It is quite obvious that the opposition was not firmly sure whether its boycott would help move closer to its announced goal of toppling the Government but there were genuine apprehensions that the boycott would harm the opposition politically as it would have meant giving free hand to the ruling party and its allies. There are also bright prospects that the PDM would also decide in favour of contesting the coming elections of the upper house as it would not like the Government to increase its strength in the Senate disproportionately (over and above its due share under the proportional representation system). Whatever the reasons, the decision to contest elections is a democratic approach and needs to be welcomed by all concerned including the Government as it would give much-needed legitimacy and credibility to the election and help strengthen the democratic process. We have been emphasizing in these columns that the opposition has every right to agitate its grievances as opposition is considered government-in-waiting in a democratic dispensation but no attempts should be made to destabilize the government through unfair means or pressure tactics. The new strategy of the opposition also means delaying implementation of the threat of the long march on Islamabad and both bye-elections of the Assemblies and Senate polls are expected to be held in a relatively peaceful manner. In the intervening period, serious efforts should be made to sort out the differences through an all-encompassing national dialogue.
