There is a perfect political stalemate at the moment. The euphoria generated from three rounds of talks between the PTI and the coalition government has come to a naught. The third session of parleys — that continued till late night on May 2 — seems to have bred more confusion than reaching a solution. Both the sides have desisted from playing it down, and are busy kite-flying, saying they have resolved to hold general elections across the country on a single day, but they have utterly failed to decide over the strategic ‘when’. This is where the unrest resides, and if hints from the PTI side are any criterion, it seems the issue is returning back to the judicial dock. With no way forward in the political sense, and desperation picking momentum in the opposition’s rank and file, the situation is fraught with serious consequences.
The Election Commission’s rejoinder to the Supreme Court has further upped the ante. The electoral watchdog has submitted that the apex court by itself deciding over the date for elections in Punjab had stepped into the commission’s authority. This is a serious submission, and could land the ECP in trouble. While the top court’s three-member bench had been proactively exercising its writ to interpret the Constitution, and ensure that polls are held within the stipulated period, the defiance from the parliament and the ECP is ushering in a clash of institutions. Moreover, the ruling from the court that its April 4 order to hold elections on May 14 is valid, and the PTI building up pressure on the streets, signals a catastrophic moment for rule of public representation.
Is there an exit strategy? The answer rests with none but the politicians. It is they who can churn wonders by deciding among themselves when to go to polls in order to passively defuse the crisis. On the other hand, if law takes its course, the sitting dispensation is at the threshold of contempt, and any untoward decision could compel the extra-constitutional forces to make a move. This must be desisted.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 4th, 2023.
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