Daily Times

Thursday’s excitement has long been replaced with an eerie silence. Two days after Pakistan headed to a much-awaited round of polls, a string of questions continue to hang heavy on the collective conscience. Why is it that despite stopping the voting process as the clock struck five, the election commission took an unnecessary and unprecedented while to make up their mind about who was winning?

The prolonged delay has opened up the entire election to controversies. No flimsy excuse can explain why official results began to trickle after an overwhelming 12 hours after the polling had ended for the provincial and national assemblies. All that the country expected of the ECP was to make arrangements for the people to fairly and freely exercise their right to franchise. However, it would not be a far stretch to exclaim that the much-talked-about body was interested in making headlines for everything else but its mandate. No matter how hard its mouthpieces may try, it cannot make sense of an overnight tilting of the electoral odds.

The presence of PTI-backed independent candidates had been a great cause of concern from the very first day. But even as they overcame restrained campaigning and managed to pull a significant turnout, there were many who had slept to the sight of a resounding success but woke up to the thunder of the turned tables.

The suspension of the internet and communication system, arising out of militancy threats, is largely blamed for these glaring gaps. But while the counting concludes and the ongoing wheeling and dealing are set to determine who would get to sit on the coveted seat, these ghosts of lost opportunities are bound to haunt the credibility of the next government. If the forerunner PML(N) is to be believed, they would woo the majority of the independent candidates. But while the probabilities appear faint at the moment, such a government would be doomed to failure because of relying on people who come from all across the spectrum.

In the case of a large body of independent candidates forming their party, the beneficiaries of the chaos might sit back and wonder whether missing out on a crucial opportunity to get back on track for five more minutes in the limelight was actually worth it. *