That Sindh caretaker CM designate Mr Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqir was so emphatic on the need to hold polls on time, and that former Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani demanded a clear timeline for the elections from the Election Commission of Pakistan, showed that at least some politicians feared that delimitations were going to be used an excuse for delay. It is now for the ECP to do as Senator Rabbani asks, which is to make clear that elections will be held on time, and that delimitations will not be used as an excuse to delay elections.
It cannot escape notice that the ECP is responsible for conducting the polls as well as delimiting the constituencies according to the latest census, but there has been no overt linkage made in the Constitution for these two tasks, and while there has been no time-limit set for delimitation, there is a very clear one for the conduct of elections. It is not the purpose to discuss the merits of previous decisions by the ECP, but the fact is that the constitutional time-limit was not observed with KP or Punjab. What makes this more worrisome is that it was done in defiance of the Supreme Court, which had ordered the polls held. Therefore, the concern that is being expressed should not be dismissed as the effusion of overactive imaginations, but taken seriously, and as such dealt with seriously.
Of the various crises which were mentioned to argue for the putting off of the KP and Punjab Assembly polls, none has passed. All that seems to have happened is that the country is no longer on the brink of economic default. There seems to be no real control over terrorist activity, and the events of June 9 and the consequent implosion of the PTI is an unknown factor. The truth is that no country is ever completely at peace, never has any problems. Indeed, that is why elections are held, because a society has problems and must choose a government which can attempt to solve them. That solution might lead to other problems arising, which will then be tackled by a government subsequently elected. The Constitution provides a timeframe for elections, which has to be followed. It is not optional, but compulsory. It is perhaps a dangerous sign that the body responsible for the conduct of elections, the ECP, has not come out with a clear statement of intent. It should not be forgotten that a caretaker government, no matter how prolonged, will always remain a caretaker.
