The Election Commission of Pakistan’s verdict on the Daska polls, the stand taken in the Supreme Court by the Commission on the secret ballot, its refusal to disqualify Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani and the latter’s subsequent victory led Prime Minister Imran Khan to heap all blame for his election woes on the ECP. An irate PM pointed an accusing finger at the ECP and thundered “You protected these criminals through secret ballot, you have damaged our democracy.” The PM even objected to the ECP, which is an independent and constitutional body, taking a stand in SC on the secret ballot being a constitutional requirement. On Tuesday three PTI ministers, with Education Minister Shafqat Mahmud as spokesman, accused the ECP of failing to fulfill its responsibility to conduct free and fair elections that were not marred by corruption. Mr Mahmud made the speculative claim that the ECP had lost confidence of the people and all political parties were unhappy with it, a claim immediately rejected by a number of opposition leaders. The minister then preposterously demanded that all the five members of the ECP resign forthwith. The PTI had the option to file a reference against the ECP in the SC which is the only constitutional way of removing ECP members. This was not done by the government because it had no incriminating evidence against it. Instead it decided to conduct a media trial of the constitutional body.
In recent bye-polls, the PTI lost elections in all four provinces. Unable to explain its electoral upsets to its supporters, the PTI leadership decided to use the ECP as a scapegoat. This is unhelpful as unless one discovers the real weaknesses that have caused a failure— and in this case these are bad economic policies that are widely resented—one is likely to fail again. The PTI conducts the media trial of its political opponents with a sinister purpose: to malign and discredit them and to create disrespect and public hatred against them. Leveling irresponsible charges against a constitutional body is tantamount to harming its credibility.
One expects the ECP to vigorously defend its report on gross violations of the code of conduct in the Daska by-polls in the Supreme Court. A continuous refusal to submit to pressures from all sides would add to the ECP’s prestige.
