No to early elections

The concept of early elections is not, in and of itself, undemocratic, but its effect now, would weaken democracy.

Almost since the day the PPP government took power, predictions of its imminent demise have been bandied about with barely-concealed glee. From the tussle over the restoration of the judiciary to the electricity price hike, any crisis, major or minor, has supposedly spelled the end of the PPP-led coalition. It is tempting, then, to write off the latest rumours of snap elections as the wistful longings of the opposition. Except this time, even the government seems to fear for its survival. The memogate scandal, which has already ensnared the former ambassador to the US, has led to questions not only about the competence of the government but also its loyalties. If ever the likes of the PML-N and the PTI were to take advantage of the government’s weakness to score victory at the polls, now would be the time. The opposition parties may have it in their power to force early elections but they would be extremely unwise to exercise that option. The government has barely a year left to complete its term, a feat that has usually proved beyond the reach of a democratically-elected government.

For our fledgling democracy to take root, it is essential that governments be allowed to serve out their tenure, especially when there is no compelling reason to force them from power. No matter how high-minded the rhetoric of the PML-N, their calls for early elections are spurred only by one motivation: if the Senate elections scheduled for March go ahead, the PPP will have a majority in the Senate. Obviously this does not work to the PML-N’s benefit, but for once, they should put the health of democracy above their short-term electoral interests. Removing the PPP from power would only the strengthen the hand of the military which, thanks to memogate, has regained the upper hand over the civilian set-up after the Abbottabad raid. PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s recent rhetoric would suggest that he does not want a resurgent military. Yet that is exactly what he would achieve with early elections. Granted, the concept of early elections is not, in and of itself, inherently undemocratic, but its effect right now would be to weaken democracy. No matter how corrupt and inefficient the current government is, this is an outcome no political party committed to civilian supremacy should want.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2011.