It has been well over two years since the 2013 general elections but the ‘mandate’ debate is still far from settled. The PML-N was hoping to have settled the rigging question once and for all through the favourable verdict that it received from the Joint Commission (JC) tasked with probing the elections but, recently, the announcements by two separate election tribunals to de-seat the respective PML-N Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) from NA-122 and NA-154 have once again brought forth the clouds of lasting doubt over the validity of the 2013 elections. Combined with the earlier de-seating of Khawaja Saad Rafique from his constituency in Lahore, the triple verdicts are being claimed as a victorious ‘hat-trick’ of sorts by PTI diehards.
The verdict of the three contested tribunals has once again thrown caution to the wind and resulted in worrisome glances from the incumbent party. The party has seemingly been keeping busy in trying to rally regional support for the promising China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) but it certainly did not do wonders for the party morale when Nawaz Sharif, the party chief and third-time Prime Minister (PM), was not in the country to witness the election tribunal verdict.
On the other hand, Imran Khan, who had been somewhat subdued after the verdict of the JC, has once again been emboldened and he is promising fire and blood if not given due attention. So far, the PTI chairman has asked for the resignations of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) officials as well as the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) chairman, and has recently threatened to stage another sit-in outside the gates of the ECP if his demands are not met. Perhaps we are on our way to seeing the dharna (sit-in) become a formidable and permanent part of our political landscape, since the country’s second-largest political party — and hence the regime-in-waiting — cannot see any other way to get its message across.
In this daily circus of Pakistani politics, where we have grown accustomed to seeing more and more inventive pranks from all and sundry, the only sensible thing so far has been the announcement from the PML-N that the party will contest the by-elections instead of taking the usual judicial route to try and overturn the verdict of the election tribunals. The decision definitely speaks of the confidence the ruling party has gathered in the wake of the results of various by-elections held all over the country that have resulted in satisfactory outcomes for the party. Additionally, the vote of confidence from international stakeholders, no matter how spurious, has also contributed towards the current government’s ability to deliver, albeit in a limited number of sectors.
However, as the PTI fuels up its bandwagon once again for the possibility of another pilgrimage to the capital, it must keep in mind that such asinine antics cut both ways in politics. The PTI is supposed to play the role of an active opposition party that challenges the status quo in favour of ordinary Pakistanis from within the system. But, so far, the PTI has failed to do so, and has been unable to escape from a self-fulfilling victim narrative that might draw huge throngs but does precious little to educate the party in the art of opposition, or governance for that matter.
So, if the PTI tricksters push forth with their new tricks this time round as well, it must be kept in mind that the PML-N can gear up its rhetoric machine and fill the streets of cities large and small with their supporters too. The PTI is the party that garnered the second-largest number of votes in the general as well as the by-elections that have taken place so far, but we must keep in mind the party in first place. The PTI may be a very visible party but the PML-N government has won over many from among the opposing cadres, owing more to the PTI’s failure to adapt than anything else. Moreover, even if the PTI is somehow able to topple the current regime and install itself as the ruling party, its opponents will waste no time in employing similar tactics to question the legitimacy of the PTI’s rule as well.
However, the remedy for the ills haunting Pakistan cannot be found in hyped-up by-elections or even snap general elections. We must understand that by-elections in the contested constituencies cannot be made into a referendum on the entire mandate, but this has not stopped the PTI from doing so. There are systemic deficiencies in our electoral process that will need to firstly be fleshed out and then eradicated if we are ever to have a chance of having free and fair elections but, so far, the PTI has been blissfully unaware of the importance of lasting electoral reforms.
Lack — or in most cases, the complete absence — of training for polling staff and presiding officers for conducting polls, especially related to the preparation of voting count statements (Form 14) and the ballot paper accounts (Form 15) was identified as a major factor that contributed towards throwing the legitimacy of the last general elections into question. Additionally, the use of biometric machines has to be seriously considered for all upcoming electoral exercises.
True that this would require a lot of grunt work as well as sophisticated policymaking, but this should not be an excuse for not establishing good precedents. In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention that our eastern neighbour, even with its population of more than 1.25 billion people, has inducted biometric machines into its voting infrastructure. But when the availability of indelible ink was spurious during our own last elections, perhaps installing biometric voting machines is still a long way down the line for us. But reform or no reform, be sure to catch new and exciting tricks from the likes of our country’s leaders as the political circus comes to town one more time, in the hope that such entertainment does not come at the expense of our fledgling democratic undertaking.
The author is a freelance columnist with degrees in political science and international relations