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How have the events of the last one week affected the prospects of free
and fair election in Pakistan? PILDAT, led by its Executive Director Ahmed
Bilal Mehboob, has analysed the recent developments in the perspective of
the coming elections.
The fist stage of the General Election 2008 is over with the submission of
the Nomination Papers for 272 general seats of the National Assembly and
577 general seats of the 4 Provincial Assemblies by November 26, 2007 -
the last date fixed by the Election Commission for the submission of the
nomination Papers. The political parties have also submitted the closed
priority lists of their candidates against the 188 reserved seats for
Women and 33 for Non-Muslims. Despite going ahead with the electoral
process, the parties other than the pro-Musharraf coalition led by the PML-Q
are not sure whether they should really take part in an election which
apparently has little chance to be free and fair. Country continues to
exist without a Constitution and political activities while judiciary,
media and fundamental human rights remain under heavy restrictions. Let us
take a look at some of the key developments of the past week which have
the potential to seriously impact the prospects of free and fair election
in Pakistan:
Mr. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister and head (Quaid) of one
of the three largest political parties of Pakistan could finally return to
Pakistan after an exile which lasted for nearly 7 years barely a day
before the deadline to submit nomination papers. Earlier General
Musharraf’s government refused to allow him back and when he tried to
return to Pakistan after the Supreme Court upheld his right to return and
stay in Pakistan, he was arrested at the airport and expelled to Saudi
Arabia. Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz faced an almost certain
conviction for defying the orders of the Supreme Court before the majority
of the judges were unconstitutionally removed by Chief of the Army Staff,
General Musharraf. Irrespective of the controversy surrounding the
circumstances under which he returned despite the fact he could return
barely 45 days before the polling day, it is certainly a positive step to
not only allow him to return to Pakistan but also lead the election
campaign of his party. With his return, public interest in the election
will definitely enhance and unless his party boycotts the election, the
anticipated low voter turn out may improve. With the increased public
interest and participation, the ability of the executive to manipulate and
rig the election will be restrained though by no means eliminated.
The formal election period commences in Pakistan with the announcement of
detailed election schedule. After the President of Pakistan announced the
date for the General Election on November 19, 2007, the Chief Election
Commissioner announced the detailed election schedule on November 20,
2007. Most of the Political Parties not aligned with Musharraf criticised
the election schedule and termed it as too hectic allowing very little
time to file nomination papers and for the election campaign after the
final list of candidates is announced. In fact, this criticism was
misplaced as a review of the past 4 general elections (1990, 1993, 1997
and 2002) showed that the schedule was nearly a replica of the election
schedules in the past elections. Despite the fact that constitutionally
the general election was scheduled to be held latest by January 15, 2008
if the National Assembly was to complete its term on November 15, 2007,
the political parties seemed to be unprepared for the election. It is a
measure of the weak organization of political parties and partly a result
of the repression let loose by the government on political leaders
especially after the proclamation of the ‘Emergency’ on November 3, that
they find a routine election schedule too hectic for compliance.
The Election Commission consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and 4
(made 5 recently under a constitutional amendment made under PCO 2007)
members; each a sitting judge coming from a provincial High Court. As of
today, only 2 of the 5 vacancies of members are filled. Members from Sindh
and Peshawar High Courts have not been in place for the last many months.
In addition, the 4 or 5 members of the Election Commission are only
part-time members as they are permanently based in the seat of their
respective high courts attending to the cases as a judge of the High
Court. They travel to Islamabad to attend a meeting of the commission or
to attend to any other business when they are called by the Chief Election
Commission. The result of this arrangement is that, in reality, the
Election Commission is limited to just one full-time member – the Chief
Election Commissioner. Another logical outcome of this situation is that
the Secretariat which is relatively more vulnerable to the executive ends
up dominating the decision-making process since someone has to fill the
vacuum. As the election date gets closer, the continued ‘part-time’ and
‘incomplete’ status of the Election Commission has become a greater source
of concern because the spirit of collective decision-making and checks and
balance within the Commission is adversely affected.
Although Nawaz Sharif’s return is a positive development, there are
several major obstacles in the way of holding free, fair and credible
election such as the removal of the independent judiciary, curbs on media,
continued arrest of many political and civil society leaders,
overwhelmingly partisan caretaker governments, weaknesses in the Election
Commission of Pakistan and restrictions on political activities. Transfers
and postings at sensitive positions from the point of view of election at
a large scale just a few days before the election schedule was announced
do not inspire any increased confidence.
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