Opposition Leader

Delay in his announcement makes no sense

As intricate as the business of politics may be, important it is nonetheless. That means it has to be carried on despite setbacks or roadblocks. Something similar happened when the Speaker of the outgoing National Assembly gave an advice of the sort to her successor the other day, stressing upon him or her to appoint a new Leader of the Opposition without delay. This delay is only holding up a praiseworthy transition from being truly completed.

As mundane as it sounds, this appointment is shaping up to be quite difficult, mainly because even though PPP has most seats in Opposition, their majority can be challenged easily if other parties combine their numbers – PPP has 40 seats, PTI 33 and MQM 23. Jamat-i-Islami with five seats, PML-Q with two seats and Awami Muslim League with one seat are most likely to support PTI for the coveted slot. This makes both PPP and PTI neck to neck and gives leverage to MQM which, even after deciding to sit on the opposition benches this time around, is in a position to dictate what it wants. The leader of the opposition will surely be someone that the MQM endorses but it is going to be a hard sell for others to get MQM in their corner, at least not until it wants to do so or it gets what it wants and decides to support one party or the other. The MQM might, however, decide to support PPP if it can make it give them something in return in the provincial government setup. It is also more likely considering there is bad blood between MQM and PTI after Imran Khan publicly accused MQM of murdering his party’s senior vice president in Karachi a day before re-polling in some polling stations in NA-250, a seat the PTI eventually won.

Though former Speaker’s advice can be taken on the face of it, it would be better to understand the reasons why it should be followed. Firstly, it is important for the continuation of democratic and political setup. Secondly, our constitution kind of makes it must to have this position filled by making it compulsory to include his, the Leader of Opposition’s, input in many of the decisions of national importance. Thirdly, he is also the one who would nominate candidates to the committee on superior judiciary’s appointments. Other than that, it is a democratic norm to have a leader of the opposition before the parliament can get to its usual business of legislation.

Dr Fehmida Mirza’s words need to be acted upon and instead of getting into political machinations, all opposition parties should unite and announce the new opposition leader as soon as possible, proving that for once they can truly put their interests aside.