Elections 2013

Finally, the date has been announced

Continuity in democracy is what makes it better, responsive and alive. A lapse in the process, though, makes it less stable and loses any gains made in a brief period of democracy. This evolutionary growth sets in motion a tradition to improve upon institutions and makes them self-sustaining yet working in tandem with the rest of the political system to deliver what democracy is expected to in the first place. But for this continuity to work, a peaceful transition of power is a requisite. And that is also where the importance of holding elections in time comes to play its role.

Any doubt on the government’s intention to hold election in a few months should be put to rest as it has just announced 16 March as the date to dissolve assemblies and elections in the next 60 days. While the ideal step would be to legislate as to when and after how long elections would be held after a government runs its tenure, so as there is no confusion and parties don’t get a chance of wheeling-dealing, the announcement of a firm date does give a reasonable proof that the government is serious about the issue. The second good news to come out of the treasury benches is that Khursheed Shah of PPP has said that the caretaker setup would be announced in a week. That indeed is good news; however, what has become of the PPP’s consultations with the chief opposition party PML-N and other parliamentary parties, which happens to be a constitutional requirement, remains yet to be seen. But one thing that the PPP would do well to pay heed to is that it should not be selective in consulting with other parties outside the parliament regarding the caretaker setup.

PPP’s negotiations with one such leader, Dr Tahirul Qadri, have gone well as he has agreed to drop his demand of a 30-day period for scrutiny of election candidates’ nomination papers to a 14-day period. Mr Kaira’s meeting with Dr Qadri has indeed been fruitful as it is apparent now that sanity has prevailed, proving that street power is not the final arbiter of dialogue on issues of national importance. However, the government’s headache hasn’t yet ended; the PML-N hasn’t agreed on a sit-down for negotiations on a caretaker setup at both the federal and in Punjab where its government is mandated to stay in power till 9 April. This in fact makes all the more essential to consult what the constitution dictates: negotiations with the opposition parties for the caretaker setup.