Need to ensure fair polls under an unjaundiced political process

Fingers are crossed for February 8 general elections. If conducted, they will surely go on to reshape the future of democracy and rule of law in the country. A glance at the status quo, however, suggests that free and fair polls are not round the corner, as bias, one-sidedness and prejudice rules the roost — something that has jaundiced the entire spectrum. The ECP seems to have deliberately put itself in bad light, as it is doing much more than it is constitutionally mandated to do. It has transgressed its territory, acting as a court by being judgmental in (political) affairs that are beyond its writ. Its failure to hold elections in May 2023 in Punjab and K-P, and again in November 2023 after the dissolution of the National Assembly will stay on as a blot on its performance.

While the ECP credibility is already under debate, there is still time and space to do some auto-correction. The electoral watchdog needs to adopt complete impartiality by holding transparent elections. Its highhandedness against Pakistan’s most popular party at the moment, the PTI, is getting over-stretched, and adding a new leaf to the pestering political instability. A series of administrative measures such as annulling PTI’s intra-party elections, rejecting the nomination papers of all its stalwarts, and moving the court of law for denying it the election symbol of ‘cricket bat’ have left a sour taste of partisanship.

While the PTI is seeking recourse from the superior judiciary, pleading relief and justice for it as per law and constitution, what is expected of the ECP at the moment is to set in a semblance of decency and sophistication, by adopting a meritorious approach free from ‘interference’ and ‘pressure’.

What PTI is going through today is nothing new. Many political parties have, in the past, passed through this litmus test of victimisation. In the due process of trial and tribulation, political parties have surely ceded their space over the period of time, and were unfortunately willing to compromise for piecemeal reliefs and gestures.

This tendency of colluding with the state apparatus has acted as a catalyst in getting their political prowess clipped, and ultimately taking what comes rolling down in embarrassment. The PPP, PML-N, other factions of the League, MQM and religious and nationalist parties, one way or the other, could not take a stance when confronted with Hobson’s choice. The rest is malice and a traumatised history.

Pakistan has to go forward, and only a genuine political process can lead it from the front. We have had enough men on the horseback, and at the same time dozens of incompetent and corrupt civil regimes. Time for encapsulating a roadmap wherein the sanctity of the ballot is upheld, and the people are enabled to exercise their right to choose their representatives in an environment of informed decision-making. This will bring in an element of responsibility to deliver for representatives who, otherwise, have made it a ‘shady business affair’ to be in the parliament serving their vested interests.

It is, thus, incumbent upon all political parties to join hands for a minimum code of conduct to ensure that their utility is of any essence, their manifestos reflect the nerve of society, and they come up with a pledge to act as per law, and nothing else.

All political parties and constitutional organs of the state must keep in mind that these elections have come at a decisive phase of our existence. This is neither 1970s, nor 1990s, where public opinion could be hoodwinked or channelised under duress. We are living in an age where more than 100 million people are on social media, involved in the process of narrative building.

Eras of indoctrination are over, as the tech-savvy nation comprising 60% youth are interested in nothing but an independent course of action that must come to empower them. Pakistan can stand tall and overcome all odds only when its people are convinced that their ‘say’ matters in statecraft. This calls for transparency in state-centrism and erecting a society that is free from repression and maneuvering.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2024.

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