More to come?
The political situation was charged enough without the NA-125 controversy, but the election tribunal’s findings have once again raised the stakes. PML-N took its time deciding to approach the Supreme Court, but there was hardly another route it could take. The kitchen cabinet must have realised that however inevitable the re-election, it is still important to counter the shock at every platform possible. To quote Ahsan Iqbal, “…this sets a dangerous precedent, where anyone can record a few irregularities and make the entire election void”.
While Iqbal has been known to be more articulate, and not anyone can record a few irregularities, etc, it must be noted, however, that there was a lot more truth in some other parts of the N-league press conference yesterday. “The detailed judgment… does not indict us of organising rigging or any other illegal measures to make the process partial”, he said. And that, interestingly, destroys the plot for PTI, which has been celebrating the verdict as vindication of its position all along. And while there is more than a grain of truth to Khan sb’s position – that the status quo would have prevailed if not for the dharna – the tribunal’s findings, again, found no willful fraud. So PTI is only a partial winner, if at all.
The most important question now, of course, is what will follow. PTI might not find the road to the reelection too smooth even if the Court lets PML-N down. There’s not much calculation needed there; just a look back to the cantonment board polls ought to be sobering enough. But it’s just as double-edged for the N-league. If they go to the election and lose, there’ll be more than a little egg on their faces. In the presence of so many variables, however, there is one constant. And that is the unforgivable incompetence of the election staff. Therefore, relevant authorities must take them to task, at least, so such ‘oversights’ are not repeated.