THE Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Thursday held out the assurance that transparent polls would be conducted in the country ‘as soon as possible’ and level playing field would be provided to all political parties to take part in the democratic exercise. The assurance came during the first consultative session held with political parties on the roadmap to elections with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in the chair.
The Election Commission surely deserves credit for taking political parties on board vis-à-vis the arrangements being made to hold elections in a free and fair manner. The consultative process would help remove flaws and shortcomings, if any, in the proposed arrangements and satisfaction of the parties could mean greater legitimacy for the entire exercise. A fuller picture would emerge once the Commission completes its ongoing process of consultations with the political parties that are major stakeholders in the electoral system. However, the first round of consultations highlighted differences of opinion among political parties on the issue of when the polls should be held. The PTI, which has all along been demanding immediate elections, pleaded that polls should be held within 90 days as required by the Constitution and that there was no need for delimitation at this time. As against this, JUI(F) said there was no doubt that holding elections within 90 days was a constitutional requirement, but now that the census results had been notified, the ECP should first complete the delimitation process so that all parties, candidates and voters are facilitated in the polls. The JUI(F) delegation also noted that electoral rolls should be updated in accordance with the new census blocks before the elections, the lists of polling stations should be corrected and the appointment of impartial and honest returning officers and district returning officers should be ensured. Barring a few political parties, rest of them are also expected to adopt a similar position during their consultations with the Commission as MQM(P) has already forcefully demanded that elections should be held on the basis of new census while PML(N) stands to gain from polls’ delay on whatsoever reason. It is to be seen what line of action PPP adopts, which remained part of the deliberations and the decision to notify data of fresh population census, knowing quite well that such a move would have implications for timely conduct of elections. Despite being part of that process, some party leaders have publicly been demanding conduct of the elections within 90 days. The Commission would be able to formulate its position on the issue of fixation of a date for polls after input from various political parties but it has already initiated the process of delimitation and its schedule shows it would be completed in mid-December. There is also an argument that the Commission would require additional three months to update the electoral lists in line with the new census and delimitations. In this scenario, there seems to be no possibility of holding the general election before May 2024 but in the complex national scenario where a tug-of-war is going on between different players and shakers, nothing can be said with certainty. The issue of delimitation of constituencies and the possible delay in elections has also been agitated before the high courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the final decision of the Commission might be influenced by the judiciary. The Commission has also clarified that after publication of the data of the new census, delimitation is a constitutional necessity but it was ready to hold elections within 90 days if so decided by the courts of law. The commitment of the Commission to provide a level playing field to all parties is also a welcome development but this proposition too has different meanings for different stakeholders. During its meeting with the Election Commission, the PTI delegation called for immediate release of party leaders and workers, and added that the party should be allowed to hold rallies. This interpretation of the level playing field might not get general approval as most of the leaders including the party chairman are behind the bars on criminal charges and the law will have to take its own course. As for transparency of the electoral exercise, Parliament has already approved a set of important reforms and their practical implementation has the potential to give greater credibility to elections. In the given situation, instead of hurling threats not to accept anything less than the conduct of elections within 90 days, all parties should extend a helping hand to the Commission to hold transparent elections on the earliest possible date.
