The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is mandated to hold general elections or by-polls in a fair, transparent, and impartial manner. Under the Constitution, the ECP must announce general elections for assemblies within 90 days after their dissolution. Undoubtedly, the commission has a very tough job of maintaining impartiality but in the current scenario, after the dissolution of two provincial assemblies—Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the election watchdog has failed to announce the election date. Feeling the apparent pulse of the political temperature in the country, it seems that the government, comprising multiple parties, wants to drag elections on one pretext or the other. On the other hand, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which is riding on a popularity wave in the country, desires early polls. Seeing the dillydallying by the ECP, the PTI moved courts to get the election date, and the president of Pakistan has announced April 30, 2023, as the polling date for the provincial assembly of Punjab. However, the K-P governor has been asked to announce the election date in consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan — both have yet not reached a consensus.
The ECP must not be partisan, and it should transparently perform its constitutional duty by providing a level-playing field to all political parties. Unfortunately, the sedition case registered against PTI leader Fawad Hussain Chaudhry by the ECP can be termed a vindictive act. Similarly, the ECP’s prosecution of several senior PTI leaders for contempt — even though nobody who matters has taken their accusations seriously — can be seen in a similar light. The ECP might have some legal justification to proceed on both counts, but it must see whether its conduct follows the norms of impartiality.
Furthermore, the ECP’s strong reaction against the PTI leaders, including its chairman Imran Khan, for using alleged intemperate, unparliamentary language and contemptuous remarks cast aspersions on the commission’s conduct and its decisions. For instance, the announcement of dates for by-elections on the recently vacated National Assembly seats and the refusal to do the same for the K-P and Punjab assembles’ elections on a flimsy pretext gives one pause. It seems that the commission is attempting to appease the coalition government, which wants to prolong the election for the provincial assemblies. The ongoing row between the PTI and the ECP is alarming and might be counter-productive. Imran Khan has now lamented the commission and publicly called for the resignation of the chief election commissioner.
On the other hand, the ECP has rejected the allegations of partiality. The PTI perceives that several of ECP’s decisions are biased and contravene the true spirit of the law. The foreign funding case of the PTI has further compounded the situation as the party demands that other parties’ similar matters should also be probed simultaneously instead of investigating the PTI funding in isolation.
The ECP should keep in mind that it is under the strict surveillance of the political parties, election observers and the media. And it should refrain from getting distracted from its constitutional obligations and maintain impartiality and transparency in conducting polling in the country.
