Elections — the struggle for honesty

It is an organisation that produces much gnashing of teeth in the political strata but for the rest of the population there is much to thank the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) for. It is FAFEN that time and again has shown the duplicity and downright dishonesty of politicians large and small and exposed them to public scrutiny. The latest FAFEN report tells the country one thing for certain — many but not all of those that are about to be elected are as dishonest and fraudulent as those that have just left power. The next government is going to be stuffed with men and women who are blatant in their dishonesty and secure in their impunity to any sanction.

Nearly 30 per cent of those registered as candidates are not registered taxpayers with the Federal Board of Revenue. There are 88 who are dual nationals which is illegal. There are 209 candidates that are defaulters to the tune of Rs3.901 billion to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), and there are 1,195 candidates who have not paid their dues to the value of Rs12.384 million to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). In the matter of bank loans in default or written off there are 115 candidates with blemished records. In every case the candidates ought to have been disqualified but with scrutiny of nomination papers by Returning Officers having been completed on June 26 there seems little chance of their exclusion before the list of candidates is published. The FAFEN report is not all bad news. There has been a marked increase in nominated minority candidates which is a fourfold increase in the non-Muslim candidates for the Punjab Assembly.

It is a very small jump to the conclusion that Returning Officers (ROs) are complicit in this collusion with dishonest declarations. Whether that was the result of financial inducement, loyalty or threats and intimidation it is impossible to know, but it can with certainty be said that there are some very crooked people bound for elected office. The assemblies are institutionally corrupt at their heart, at which the state is content.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2018.

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