Shoddy governance

It appears that wherever one cares to look, key institutions of governance are in dereliction or disarray. Some of these are vital to the functioning of the democratic process and few more so than the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The entire electoral process appears to have ground to a halt as the ECP has stopped all local government related activity and postponed all by-elections that were to be held in coming weeks. This lamentable state of affairs has arisen because the ECP has become dysfunctional after the simultaneous retirement of all four of its members. The decision affects five by-elections nationally and provincially in Punjab and Sindh, which cannot go ahead until new commissioners are appointed.

The opposition has cried foul, and with some good reason. Commissioners are appointed for finite terms and the upcoming retirement of the four commissioners was known well in advance. The process to select new commissioners ought to have been seamless, automatic. The ECP itself has no role in the appointments, and in its defence it is saying that it is up to the lawmakers themselves as well as the political parties to initiate the process before commissioners reached the end of their tenure. The waters are further muddied by the fact that the meeting of the parliamentary committee that would agree the shortlist of candidates to be appointed to the ECP was cancelled at the last moment on June 16 and was postponed to the following day, when Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed was appointed chairman of the committee. It would be fair to say that all sides bear a responsibility for this shambles. Petty politicking has denied the voters the right to exercise their democratic right to elect those who represent them. Once again bumbling ineptitude comes to the fore, laced with large doses of self-interest. It could be months before new commissioners are selected and elections can be held. A textbook example of how not to govern, and a disservice to the nation by those tasked to serve it. Yet again.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2016.

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