Yet another disqualification

Rather than policies or promises, the attention ahead of Election 2018 has centered on the Election Commission, tribunals, NAB and the courts. Now, the disqualification of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from his home constituency in Murree by an election tribunal in Rawalpindi has brought in an element of chaos less than a month before Election Day. Abbasi was disqualified under the “sadiq” and “ameen” clause of Article 62 of the constitution for allegedly concealing facts in his nomination papers, misdeclaring his assets, and committing forgery. Disqualifications under Article 62 are for life but Abbasi’s nomination papers for a second National Assembly seat were accepted just a day before the ban was given by the Rawalpindi tribunal. Legal experts are divided on how this will now play out and whether Abbasi will be able to stand from any constituency should the disqualification be upheld. Interestingly, the Rawalpindi tribunal made this decision on the last day for appellate tribunals to hear appeals, leaving Abbasi little time to try and overturn the ban. In his appeal to the Lahore High Court, Abbasi, among other things, has said the tribunal only has the jurisdiction to accept or reject the stance of the returning officer and cannot issue a lifetime ban. Others, including Fawad Chaudhry and Sardar Ghulam Abbas of the PTI, were also disqualified, but the bulk of the bans have been imposed against the PML-N. Chaudhry was successful in convincing the Lahore High Court to overturn his disqualification on appeal. This has led the party to question if it is being treated fairly and if perhaps attempts are being made to hurt the party’s chances at the polls.

The perception will also be strengthened by the recent actions of the National Accountability Bureau. On Monday, it arrested PML-N candidate Raja Qamarul Islam for unspecified reasons even though it had issued a no-objection certificate to the Election Commission of Pakistan to allow him to contest the elections. The NAB chairman also spoke against what he called the “mega corruption” of the Punjab government and said references would soon be filed. While no one has any objection to NAB vigorously prosecuting corruption cases, it has to be perceived as applying the law equally to everyone without fear or favour. Coming just under a month before the elections, any arrests should be accompanied by a charge-sheet so that voters know what the person has been accused of doing. Public officials should also refrain from speculating about investigations that have yet to lead to the filing of charges. The state has enormous power in the conduct of elections and so it has a duty to ensure that it does not tip the scales even by accident. Public pronouncements need to be kept to a minimum and government agencies should have the confidence in their anti-corruption work to let the results speak for themselves.