Elections and the army
We need to move towards a situation where it is possible to conduct elections without military help.
We need to move towards a situation where it is possible to conduct elections without military help. PHOTO: FILE
As has become the norm, the military has once again assumed a role in a part of national life where it should not, in normal circumstances, have a part. Following talks with the Chief Election Commissioner, Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, in Islamabad, COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani agreed that the army would help verify electoral rolls in Karachi — where trouble is expected. The CEC meanwhile backed away from his initial stance on delimitations in Karachi, stating that these should only take place after a new census.
While the EC’s determination to push ahead with polls is highly encouraging, with preparations apparently having been made to stage them any day — especially since there have lately been so many rumours of a significant delay and especially since Dr Tahirul Qadri stepped into an already murky pond with his own agenda — it is unfortunate the military cannot apparently be done without in the country. Its role in checking electoral lists is possibly inevitable given the situation prevailing in Karachi, but nevertheless this is unfortunate. We should by now have reached a point where the civilian set-up and all its bodies are capable of conducting an electoral exercise. This is, of course, a task that takes place routinely in many nations around the world.
The army’s role will always raise the fear of intervention that goes beyond mere checks. This has happened before; it could happen again and such rumours do nothing to build confidence among people that polling is fair and the army a totally neutral entity with no role to play in politics. The calling in of the army is ironic given that the institution has manipulated elections several times in the past. However, hopefully it only operates in the role it has been assigned and will not act beyond it. We need to move towards a situation where such intervention is not required at any point and it is possible to conduct elections without military help. This, of course, is only possible if we can get the law and order situation under control and prevent that becoming a reason to call in the military each time blood begins to flow on streets which need to be cleansed of it — notably in Karachi where there has been a new burst of violence in recent days.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 28th, 2012.
While the EC’s determination to push ahead with polls is highly encouraging, with preparations apparently having been made to stage them any day — especially since there have lately been so many rumours of a significant delay and especially since Dr Tahirul Qadri stepped into an already murky pond with his own agenda — it is unfortunate the military cannot apparently be done without in the country. Its role in checking electoral lists is possibly inevitable given the situation prevailing in Karachi, but nevertheless this is unfortunate. We should by now have reached a point where the civilian set-up and all its bodies are capable of conducting an electoral exercise. This is, of course, a task that takes place routinely in many nations around the world.
The army’s role will always raise the fear of intervention that goes beyond mere checks. This has happened before; it could happen again and such rumours do nothing to build confidence among people that polling is fair and the army a totally neutral entity with no role to play in politics. The calling in of the army is ironic given that the institution has manipulated elections several times in the past. However, hopefully it only operates in the role it has been assigned and will not act beyond it. We need to move towards a situation where such intervention is not required at any point and it is possible to conduct elections without military help. This, of course, is only possible if we can get the law and order situation under control and prevent that becoming a reason to call in the military each time blood begins to flow on streets which need to be cleansed of it — notably in Karachi where there has been a new burst of violence in recent days.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 28th, 2012.