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| May 23, 2006 | Tuesday | Rabi-us-Sani 24, 1427 |
APC needed to work out fair poll system
LAHORE, May 22: President Pervez Musharraf said recently that the schedule for general elections would be announced in November 2007, after the assemblies completed their five-year term. This would mean that the polls may be held in the beginning of 2008 — or about 19 months from now.
But most opposition parties have started saying that elections under Gen Musharraf cannot be free and that a caretaker government and a genuinely independent and powerful election commission should be set up to ensure the sanctity of the electoral process.
According to political observers here, apprehensions about fairness and transparency of the poll process being expressed by the opposition should be viewed against the background of the past experience and the fact that the credibility of almost every election held in the country was questioned by the defeated parties.
Stressing the need for bringing this unenviable tradition to an end, the observers said the Election Commission of Pakistan should take necessary steps in consultation with the ruling as well as opposition parties.
They suggested convening of an all-party conference and a thorough review of various viewpoints. The opposition, instead of making demands which are impossible for the Chief Election Commissioner to meet, should come up with positive and practicable suggestions.
One analyst pointed out that opposition’s persistent statement that open and honest polls were not possible under Gen Musharraf was something beyond the powers of the CEC. It was also beyond the realm of the CEC, he said, to call upon the general to take off his military uniform. These are political issues which should be settled by the political parties at appropriate forums.
Once the APC is held, the opposition parties will not need to go to foreign embassies or organisations like the Commonwealth or the European Union to express their grievances.
Official sources say the CEC will, for the first time, prepare error-free computerised electoral rolls for the 2007 elections. These rolls, it is being claimed, will be difficult for anyone to manipulate. Complaints that the CEC hands down different lists to government-backed candidates and their opponents, will come to an end.
People in the Election Commission think that polls can’t be rigged if political parties appoint ‘incorruptible and vigilant’ agents at all polling stations. “But in case you go to sleep leaving your doors open, it will be unfair for you to complain that thieves entered your house,” said a senior official of the commission, reminding the political parties of their duties about polls.
A delegation of the PPP-Parliamentarians, led by Makhdoom Amin Fahim, recently called on the Chief Election Commissioner and presented a set of proposals on how free and fair elections could be held. The same proposals were also given to US President Bush during his March visit to Islamabad, and then to Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon when Ms Benazir Bhutto met him in London a few days ago.
If other parties also prepare their recommendations and present them at the proposed APC, it will become easier for the CEC to complete the necessary groundwork.
Some political leaders said recently that the powerful district governments might influence the general elections, and in their presence transparent and impartial elections were not possible.
They were of the view that the district governments should be suspended for a few months to ensure that they did not interfere in the process.
The fear, according to the observers, should be seriously addressed. And if it’s not possible for the CEC to suspend the local governments at the time of polls, he should consider some alternatives. This matter may also be discussed at the APC.
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