Imran Khan versus the ECP

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan seems to have forced the Election Commission of Pakistan into ceding its position after the PTI threatened to start a dharna – yet again – outside the ECP offices on October 4. Neither Imran nor the ECP seem to have had the larger interests of the country in mind during this entire affair, letting ego come in the way of prudent politics and decision-making. Issuing his dharna warning, Imran had said that only a mad man would contest elections under the current ECP composition. His party has also filed a reference in the Supreme Judicial Council to de-seat the ECP members. After Imran’s latest threat, the ECP called an emergency meeting on Saturday where, as per reports, three of the four ECP members decided to tender their resignations. Whatever the details of the meeting, there are questions over why the ECP members are resigning so late after having stood their ground for so long. The demand had been made immediately after the Judicial Commission report which confirmed a number of procedural errors on the part of the ECP. If the ECP members were to resign, this principled position could have been taken without any criticism immediately after the JC. Now, the entire affair leaves us with little clarity and many questions.
Why did the ECP members choose to stand their ground for so long only to resign now? The ECP could have easily agreed to resign when both the PTI and PPP made the joint demand. The late decision to resign leaves a number of questions about the upcoming local bodies elections and by-elections to the National Assembly. First, it will take the government and opposition quite some time to appoint new members to the ECP. Given the pressure being put by the PTI it is likely that Imran will put up another set of hurdles. This means that the entire process is likely to delay the elections for at least another few months. While the ECP is to blame for the original irregularities in the elections and then delaying resolving this issue, Imran has also come across as someone not interested in letting things move forward smoothly. The election process looks to have lost more credibility due to Imran Khan’s varying stance. The ECP’s performance is already under scrutiny and the reforms needed in the electoral system have become glaringly obvious to all. That said, the tradition of political parties taking on an autonomous body whose duty it is to conduct elections in the country also sets in place a precedent that could lead to more complications in the future. What is important now is that for the future the ECP corrects the weaknesses that have been exposed in recent days and ensures these do not mar polling in the future. Only a transparent, above-board and professionally sound performance by the ECP will ensure continuity of the democratic process, accepted and followed by all stakeholders.