In a rather unfortunate development, the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Election Commission of Pakistan appear to be locked in a battle over the conduct of local bodies polls mandated by the constitution of Pakistan. While the SC, after rebuking the ECP for misleading it over the matter, had fixed September 20, 2015as the deadline for the polls in the Sindh and Punjab, the ECP has indicated there could be further hurdles in the way of this by suggesting it was unlikely polls could be held by that date. It cited possible problems from the administrations in the two largest provinces as the reason for this. We have gone over the matter too many times. The apex court was initially told that the lack of capacity within the Printing Cooperation of Pakistan made it impossible to obtain sufficient ballots in time to conduct the electoral exercise. The three member bench hearing the case had said it was the ECP’s job to remedy this situation. The tussle, which has now lasted years, has continued.
It is unfortunate that a final resolution has not been reached. The fact is that there is no real option but to conduct polls at the local level. As the SC has repeatedly stated, the law of the land makes it necessary for these polls to be held. Quite obviously, difficulties presented to the administration or the ECP in arranging this should not stand in the way of the basic right of people. They cannot be disenfranchised simply because the structure required for them to vote is not in place. This is something all parties need to understand. Rather than becoming engaged in any kind of battle of wills, the ECP and the governments must recognise that the LB polls do indeed need to be held as quickly and smoothly as possible. Conflict over this matter can only hurt institutions and the nation as a whole. Instead of engaging in the long arguments we have seen so far, it would be far better if all those involved put their heads together and worked out how to get over
difficulties involved in printing papers, registering new voters and conducting the process as it should be conducted. Devoting energy to this rather than battling the SC or trying to shy away from something that must be done would be wise. Sadly, we still see little evidence of a willingness to go about this task. Pulling back the LB polls to a later date is again being spoken of, despite the clear cut apex court ruling. This cannot be a positive step given all that we have seen so far and the dangers that lie in any kind of dispute over what should be a matter tackled by everyone including the provincial governments and ECP officials at every level.