The Lahore High Court has accepted a PTI petition against the appointment of executive officers as Returning Officers for the upcoming election, but that has led to the Election Commission of Pakistan cancelling all ROs’ appointments. Those appointments are essential for an election schedule to be issued, for the very first step for a candidate is to obtain nomination forms, which are only available with the RO of his or her constituency. The LHC was silent about where the ECP was supposed to obtain substitutes, but it should be noted that ROs from the executive were used in 2018, because the respective high courts had refused to allow the ECP to use members of the subordinate judiciary as ROs. The high courts cannot be said to acting arbitrarily, because there is a clear and direct constitutional provision separating the executive and the judiciary, with the result that high courts do not allow judges to perform executive functions, such as acting as ROs. The ECP had already requested the high courts to provide judges as ROs, but this request has already been rejected.
It must be noted that the PTI made no objection in 2018, when ROs were drawn from the executive after a while, when they won the election. It seems as if they are developing cold feet now that they feel the ROs and other methods will now be used against them rather than in favour.
One of the issues arising is that this judgement may be used to further delay the elections. Elections should have been held by now, but it was only after arm-twisting by the Supreme Court that the ECPP gave a date of February 8. Though the other political parties have gone in appeal to the Supreme Court, the elections, whenever held, will not yield a government accepted as legitimate except by the winner. That propaganda will penetrate society, with the result that no one will accept the results except diehard supporters of the winners. Unless there is no interference, no prior determination of the result, people will not accept the results. Even then, it will take more than one election, probably three or four, free of interference, before results are trusted. It will also be essential to keep intervening periods free of interference, otherwise the credibility of elections will remain dubious.
