Time running out for electoral reforms
There was much criticism from the opposition on the way general elections were conducted in 2013. Both the PTI and the PPP claimed that the elections had been stolen. The PPP said it was accepting the results only under protest in the wider interest of the system. Imran Khan resorted to protest rallies which culminated in the longest sit-in ever conducted in Islamabad. Finally, Khan sought an enquiry by a judicial Commission appointed by the Supreme Court. The demand was accepted and a judicial commission was formed. The Commission’s report said it found numerous shortcomings in the conduct of the elections by ECP but the elections were largely organised and conduced fairly and in accordance with law.
Finally the government agreed on a multi-party parliamentary committee to recommend electoral reforms. What happened subsequently revealed the government’s disregard for Parliament and a lack of a sense of urgency on the part of the opposition. The government first delayed the formation of the committee, and then nominated as chairman a minister who already had several irons in the fire, the reforms becoming among his lesser concerns. The opposition too played a part in the delays. Initially meetings could not be held regularly due to PTI’s sit-in and its members boycotting the meetings. The report which was to be completed by October 2014 finally reached the Parliament in December 2016. Being an interim report, it needed feedback from Parliament before being formulated into a law. Presently the document gathers dust in Parliament’s record section.
The ECP has now reminded the Parliament of the importance of urgently finalising the report. The ECP would need at least thirty days after receiving the inputs to prepare a final draft of a new election law. The ECP is required to prepare a comprehensive action plan specifying all legal and administrative measures that have been taken or are required to be taken at least six months before the general elections are due to be held. Any delay in the enactment of the law on time would lead to the situation in 2013 with all parties screaming bloody murder and issuing calls for protests.