PRIME MINISTER Imran Khan struck a conciliatory tone towards the opposition in his speech in the National Assembly on Wednesday when he requested them to cooperate in agreeing on a set of electoral reforms so that future elections could become non-controversial.

It was a rare, and a welcome, sight to see the prime minister reaching out to the opposition for a larger cause, instead of tearing into them. This refreshing tone gelled with the overall ambience of the proceedings which enabled the prime minister to labour through his lengthy speech without interruption and heckling.

The treasury and the opposition benches had reached a working understanding to allow the parliamentary proceedings to function normally after the ruckus during the budget presentation. This bodes well for the political system that appeared to be overheating dangerously.

The matter of electoral reforms requires the highest priority by parliament. The government blundered by bulldozing a bill of electoral reforms through the National Assembly and was rightly chastised by the opposition and the Election Commission of Pakistan for it. Only belatedly did the government realise, it seems, that many of the proposed reforms in the bill went contrary to constitutional requirements and could have been challenged in court. The proposals required greater debate and discussion in order for all parties to reach a consensus, and this is what the prime minister has now agreed to do.

Read: Controversial poll reforms

The government is insisting on adopting electronic voting machines which the opposition looks at with suspicion. The proposal should not be dismissed without a proper debate. There may be merits to adopting this technology if it can be tailored so that there is no chance of it being hacked or manipulated. The ECP has done some work on it, and various pilot projects should be launched in order to test the machines. The opposition should approach the matter with an open mind instead of needlessly turning it into a controversy.

The government’s biggest blunder these last three years has been its refusal to engage the opposition with sincerity. It has adopted a confrontational attitude from the very start and this has led to a breakdown of a functional relationship between the two sides. If the prime minister is now ready and willing to alter this approach — as was evident in his speech — then the opposition should also reciprocate in kind.

The roots of the rivalry may go deep, but the rivals can at least sit across the table and start engaging with each other on the matter of electoral reforms. This would ensure that the final bill passed would enjoy the support of all the parties and would contribute to improving the system for the next general elections. The prime minister has taken a positive step and the opposition should reach out and accept the gesture for its sincerity.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021