With Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar joining in, saying that the assemblies will stand dissolved when they complete their tenure in August, all that seems a subject of debate within the coalition is whether the National Assembly, the Sindh Assembly and the Balochistan Assembly should be left to end their tenures at their maximum possible limit, or whether they should be dissolved a day or two earlier. In the first case, the Constitution allows for elections within 60 days, in the latter, within 90. Whatever the case, it is essential that the Constitution be followed.
That may not have been the case with the Punjab or KP assemblies, which were dissolved in January, but to which elections are yet to be held, despite much litigation. Subsequent legislation has made it the Election Commission of Pakistan’s responsibility to set the date, but to change it if it feels necessary.
Now that the talk has died down of the National Assembly extending the life of the Assembly pursuant to a Proclamation of Emergency, or Financial Emergency, there is already some talk of the ECP postponing the elections, and giving the caretaker government a longer tenure, much as it has done with the Punjab and KP Assemblies. That it should not, and must ensure that polls are on time. If the elections are not held on time, the President’s tenure ends on September 9, which means that his successor must be elected between 30 and 60 days earlier, at which point the electoral college must be completed. It should be remembered that the Chief Election Commissioner is ex officio Returning Officer for this poll. Then there are Senate elections next March, for which provincial assemblies must exist. In short, any deviation from the constitutional timeframe means a crumbling of the entire constitutional edifice.
Whatever else might be said about the elections, it seems that the PTI stands no chance, as after May 9, the very forces that brought it into power now seem determined to keep it out. It is an unfortunate truth that election results are predetermined. It does seem unfortunate that the coming election, though it is not certain in every mind, is already tainted, as one party is preparing to explain away its defeat as pre-poll rigging. Unless such claims are rendered toothless by the fairness of the poll, the country cannot be described as a functioning democracy. The country should not be satisfied with the holding of the poll on time; it should be free of any interference too.
