Finally, on way to Local Government Elections

But is the electoral machinery, and the government, up to it?

The federal and provincial governments would have preferred to complete their tenure without holding the Local Government elections. This is what they did during 2008-13 and in the last fourteen months by resorting to all sorts of subterfuges to avoid the Local Government polls. While they succeeded in stealing former CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry’s thunder, they were unable to resist pressure from a determined though more poised CJ Nasir-ul-Mulk. The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition have talked to each other on phone regarding the Chief Election Commissioner’s appointment. The President has issued two ordinances to assign the task of delimitations of constituencies and preparation of electoral lists to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

So far so good. But how far does it go? Unless the Supreme Court is vigilant, the CEC might still not be appointed this year while the elections for the Local Governments may again have to be rescheduled till next year. The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader didn’t have time to meet face to face where they could have discussed possible names. The Leader of the Opposition thinks the CEC could even be taken from bureaucracy or from among politicians and not necessarily from higher judiciary as stipulated in Article 213. A lengthier meeting between the two could have taken up the issue of delay in the working of the Electoral Reforms Committee. The committee needs to urgently finalise its report so that the required constitutional amendments are introduced at the earliest. The delay in the working of the committee is partly due to its busy Chairman who as Finance Minister has to frequently go abroad.

The Election Commission of Pakistan bears the major burden after having been assigned fresh tasks. Will it be able to improve its reputation for bungling things? The task assigned to it requires speed. Will it be able to act efficiently to finish the tasks of delimitation and settling the appeals on time?