Only one will do

President or co-chairman?

With only four months left for the government to complete its tenure, elections are on the agenda of all stakeholders. President Zardari has categorically dispelled the idea of the postponement of elections. The Election Commission has declared that it is fully prepared for the exercise whenever it is held. A number of religious parties have joined hands to restore the MMA. The PML-N leadership has held talks with the Likeminded Group to explore the possibility of putting up joint candidates. Imran Khan has announced to launch mass contact campaign after Muharram. The PPP is keen to contest the elections jointly with its allies. This explains why its government is reluctant to take any action in Karachi to control lawlessness that could alienate any of its allies in the province. A similar stand taken vis a vis Balochistan indicates that here also the federal government is not willing to annoy party members or allies. The PPP and PML-Q have already decided to field joint candidates for nine seats in the by-elections to be held on Nov 17 and Nov 27 after which they intend to repeat the exercise in general elections.

The law minister has reiterated that the government has always carried out the orders of the SC. There is now a need on its part to review its stand on the two offices of the president. The president in a parliamentary system is no doubt elected by political parties. He is thus by no means an apolitical figure. But once in office he is required to be totally nonpartisan. If there was any confusion in this regard, it should have been removed after the full verdict of the SC in Asghar Khan case. According to the verdict, the president would be violating the constitution if he failed to treat all manner of people equally and without favouring any set. Further that any deviation from this would lead to action against him under the constitution and the law. In the Eid Milan party speech, the president promised to honour the mandate to be given by the people and hand over government to the victorious political party. This shows he wants to retain the office of the president. In the same speech he is also reported to have said that he would now sit and stay in Lahore. The statement is being interpreted as a determination by the co-chairman of the PPP to personally supervise the election campaign of the party in Punjab.

If Zardari wants to lead the PPP into the election fray, he would do well to get someone else elected to the office of the president. In case he is keen to continue to occupy the Presidency, he would have to nominate someone else as co-chairman. This alone would ensure smooth elections.