The claims of rigging by the Commissioner Rawalpindi, since relieved, Liaquat Chattha, have refused to go away, despite vociferous denials by the Election Commission of Pakistan, and allegations by the PML(N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah. One immediate consequence has been that attention is no longer focused on the formation of the government, not that that was going all that well, with yet another round of talks between the party leaders ending without conclusion, but with the repetition of the familiar formula of PPP support for the PML(N) candidate for PM, while remaining outside the government. This does not reflect a race after sensation by the media, but the basic prerequisite of a government thrown up by the National Assembly: that the National Assembly reflect the opinion of the nation. If Mr Chattha’s claims are correct, then many of those declared elected were not elected, and their defeated rivals should have been declared elected.
There was already a crisis of confidence in the elections, as there was an almost universal refusal to accept the results. As Mr Chattha’s claims only reflect one division, the possibility arises that some or even most of the Punjab’s results are unreliable. It will also have to be accepted by PTI supporters that only Punjab was affected, for the PML(N), which benefited in Rawalpindi Division, was mauled in KP, Sindh and Balochistan, and would probably come out ahead if those results were to be reversed.
Already, there have been cries for re-election, but that does not appear a solution. Israel has had similar problems, with five elections since 2019, but with similar results most of the time. However, Israel does not suffer from any doubt about the electoral process. It should not be forgotten that a similar dispute about election results in 1977 ended in a mass protest movement, and led to the Zia martial law. An unfortunate difference is that the opposition is at the moment inchoate, which in turn means that there is no one to talk to. Another problem is that none of the sides involved can really negotiate. The caretaker government says that nothing wrong occurred. Nor does the ECP. The PTI Chairman is in jail. Anyhow, a bunch of independents can’t act for another independent. That all adds up to an explosive situation. The stability that these elections were supposed to bring seems to have disappeared.
