Uncertainty in
the time of elections
Seldom in our
history has there been the kind of currents, cross-currents and uncertainty
that swirl around this election. The travails of the former ruling party, the
PML-N, continue to grow, take on new forms and directions, and reinforce in the
process the perception that all is not above board. So much so that the
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has felt constrained to take notice of
the reports that some PML-N candidates have been pressured into giving up their
party tickets and opting to run as independents, with the ‘jeep’ the election
symbol of choice. The ECP has asked the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab
(where most of such incidents have been reported) to ensure the safety and
security of all candidates to ensure a level playing field and free and fair
elections. Meanwhile the judiciary and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)
are at pains to deny any role in the election process. The mere fact that the
need for such denials has been felt underlines the storm of rumour and
speculation that has overtaken the polls exercise. Reporters Sans Frontieres
(RSF) and their local counterpart the Freedom Network (FN) have added their
voices to those abroad and at home who are pointing to and questioning the
obvious and unseen intimidation, threats, censorship and self-censorship the
mainstream media and journalists are being subjected to. Critics and dissidents
on the social media are also under threat and a cloud of ‘silencing’. The
pertinent question RSF and FN have raised is how a free and fair election can
be held amidst curbs on the media and freedom of expression.
Asif Zardari has
stated in a television interview that he does not see 100 percent free and fair
elections. He points to the arrest of one of his close aides, Ismail Dahiri, near
his home in Nawabshah as a ‘message’ to him. Asif Zardari uses this incident to
clinch his denial of any deal with the establishment, a rumour that has been
strongly doing the rounds for some time. Had he had such a deal, Asif Zardari
argues, he would have been the one ordering people’s arrest and not been on the
receiving end of such unwanted attention. What is intriguing about this
incident is that it was carried out by the Rangers. This follows on the heels
of the claims by some of the PML-N candidates who have returned their party
tickets and opted to run as independents that they were ‘visited’ by people in
black uniforms and civilian clothes to be delivered the ‘message’ that it would
be in their and their families’ interests to dump the PML-N. If all this begins
to assume a definite shape and pattern in people’s minds, the question
inevitably arises who or what is behind such dangerous shenanigans and to what
end. In this matter, the ECP, whose constitutional duty it is to ensure the
elections are held in a free, fair and transparent manner, expresses its
helplessness to stymie or reverse this trend of intimidation by pleading that
all it can do is write to the caretaker governments to ensure such happenings
are not repeated and the life and limb of all candidates, irrespective of
political affiliation, are secure and free of any shadow of discouragement or
nudging in a particular direction. Since the ECP’s powers do not go beyond
this, and it is not clear what if anything the caretaker administrations can do
to prevent such practices despite the federal Information Minister Ali Zafar’s
‘assurance’ that complaints in this regard, if filed with proper evidence, will
be acted upon, public confidence in the current elections process has fallen to
an all time low. This election is rapidly turning into one of the most
controversial in our history. That does not engender confidence that its outcome
will be satisfactory, credible, and acceptable across the board by all
stakeholders. If this conclusion has even a grain of truth in it, it seems
fresh political trouble and instability lie ahead.
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