PML-N has to rise above its current performance
Withholding an Election Tribunal’s verdict the SC disqualified PTI MNA Ijaz Chaudhary last month. On Monday, another Election Tribunal ordered re-election in the hotly disputed NA-125 and PP-155 after records were found to have been tampered with in the constituency during the 2013 polls. The latest decision is a big setback for the PML-N as Khawaja Saad Rafique holds the portfolio of Railways Minister. According to the judgment the ballot bags had been opened with a sharp object. It was further discovered that on an average each person had cast six votes.
The judgment was apparently not expected by Khawaja Saad Rafique and the immediate response from his side was unconvincing. He held the ‘incompetence’ on the part of the Presiding Officer and ROs responsible for whatever was found inside the bags. Incompetence expresses itself in passive carelessness but when sharp objects are used to open the bags and records are tampered with, it is bound to be interpreted as a well thought out criminal act for which the proper word is rigging.
The affair has two aspects: one negative, the other positive. It proves that there are defects in the election system and there is a dire need to remove them. Any election held under the present system is again going to lead to complaints of rigging. Parliament is the only legitimate forum for setting the electoral system right. For this the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms which seems to have gone into hibernation needs to be urgently reactivated. The judgment also proves that the Election Tribunals are independent and can pass judgments against highly vocal parties like the PTI as well as against the party ruling the country. Kh Saad Rafique is within his right to go to the Supreme Court in appeal. The PML-N has also the option of seeking recourse to the peoples’ court by deciding to seek fresh mandate in NA-125 and PP-155. What the PML-N should avoid is the unnecessary confrontation with the PTI by accusing it of hatching plots.
