Daily Times

Finally, the Supreme Court said out loud what was being murmured in quarters all around. The recent Daska by-elections were anything but a quiet affair. After what could only go down as a medieval war between two armed-to-teeth tribes, the PML-N had let out a loud sigh of relief. And why wouldn’t it? It had wrestled a victory out of the tightly-clenched fist of the PTI. In a thunderbolt, the chief election commissioner had called for fresh polling in the entire constituency. Through a star of an otherwise mundane midterm exercise, the party could have gained credence on their hullaballoo over being stripped of their mandate in the 2018 elections. Alas! This happiness was short-lived.

Not only has the SC ordered a deferral of polls, but the bench has also raised the need to hear out all respondents. While contestant Nosheen Iftikhar may be Noonian’s leading light out of the election tunnel, her side of the story alone cannot decide the fate of such an expensive use of state machinery. A previous hearing had already debunked a modest estimate by the ECP of the election cost–Rs 19 million. A surprised Justice Bandial had even commented that a candidate needed to spend a much, much bigger amount on his campaign. No matter how suspicious a poll results may seem, opening the wallet to the tune of Rs 240 million was no joke.

Reservations have also been raised regarding whether the commission holds the authority (under Section 9 of Elections Act 2017) to enhance the scope of its inquiry by ordering a repoll in the entire constituency. Why couldn’t the investigation be limited to irregularities of the 23 polling stations? Though the disappearance of as many as 20 presiding officers and incidents of aerial firing and violence cannot be made light of, why couldn’t they be dealt with on the scale they were? After all, the PML-N’s original appeal (the basis for ECP’s narrative) had also called for a fresh ballot in 23 polling stations. The chief going out of the way–to hand a relief, even greater than what was asked for–is mind-boggling for many.

His swinging of Thor’s hammer to slap the PTI with such a heavy hand was simply uncalled for. Why couldn’t they opt for a less controversial solution and end the poll on a neural note? While the ECP chose to proceed with shock, the judiciary has, thankfully, opted for the plain-old-boring path of reason. The pressing question at the centre of this rather tongue-twisting debate is the proverbial rot in the system. With opposition parties hell-bent on proving their upper hand and the election commission’s inclination to theatrics, everyone seems to be missing the main point. The Bollywood-style vanishing of presiding officers clearly indicates the presence of, at least some, nefarious elements, who act unhinged for their designs. Unhinged from the rules, unhinged from the system. Rooting out these weeds that make a mockery of our constitutional right should have been the utmost priority of everyone involved. Until then, the next general elections can only be expected to return as a sequel to what had transpired in Daska! *