Political foes on same page to curb horse-trading

ISLAMABAD: Lethally opposed political rivals have become strange bedfellows by staunchly sharing views on bringing about a constitutional amendment to curb the appalling ‘horse-trading’ in the March 5 Senate elections.
Conversely, somewhat ‘traditional’ allies equally forcefully differed eliminating the mush obvious corruption, being committed by some fabulously rich contestants, in this electoral exercise.
The result of the all parties’ conference (APC) hosted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to get rid of selling and buying of votes that no political party has the guts to publicly support was lack of consensus.
However, the prime minister loudly demonstrated his unequivocal determination to hammer out an agreement on the amendment and expressed his utter contempt for the abominable practice. He thus has moral high ground and told all and sundry that he was all-out for eradicating the menace.
Polling for the Senate elections will be just three days away on Monday if the constitutional amendment was moved in the parliament that day. Its passage will be just a matter of minutes provided a parliamentary consensus is reached.
As the luck would have it, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were on the same wavelength on the constitutional amendment. In reality, the PML-N and PTI are lethal rivals, and the PTI and MQM also fall in the same category with equal ferocity. But they are on the same page on this key issue.
On the other hand, Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) is a formal ally of the PML-N and is part of the ruling coalition, but is opposed to the amendment. When it comes to countering the PTI, PPP and PML-N stand united.
But in the instant case, the PPP differs with the PML-N, giving lame, imprudent and implausible arguments against the move to purge corruption from the Senate elections, which is no secret by now.
The PTI’s breaking bread with the PML-N on this specific issue is inconsequential as far as the support in the National Assembly is concerned because it is not willing to return to the parliament to vote for the amendment. It wants to dictate its terms while maintaining its stand on formation of a Judicial Commission to investigate its poll rigging charges. It calls the parliament bogus but wants the same legislature to do away with money changing hands in the Senate elections.
However, the PPP’s consent to the constitutional amendment is very important because it can’t be approved in the Senate without its backing. The PML-N is in a clear position to manage the requisite numbers in the National Assembly but is totally unable to muster such tally, 70 MPs, in the Senate, which is dominantly controlled by the PPP. Interestingly, half of the present Senate will retire on March 11, which will lead to significant weakening of the PPP in this chamber.
With the retirement of its 21 senators of a total of 40 members, the PPP will be left with 19 lawmakers. It is likely to get some seven seats from Sindh. However, it will stand wiped out from the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan because of its dismal performance in the 2013 general elections.
The PML-N will be left with eight senators after the retirement of an equal number of its members. It is going to win either all the eleven seats from Punjab because of its unprecedented hold over this provincial assembly. It will secure a good number of seats from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The passage of the 21st constitutional amendment bill, which paved the way for trial of hardcore terrorists by the military courts, was also delayed by a day as the government had fallen short of the required two-thirds majority, 228 members. At the time, the religious parties and two smaller groups, associated with the ruling coalition, had rattled the government in the National Assembly, opposing some religion-related passages of one of the amendment despite the government’s assurance that speedy trial military courts sought to be set up to try terrorists would be no kangaroo courts.
On his part, the prime minister aired his extreme contempt against the horse-trading in the Senate elections. “The business of buying and selling votes is illegal. The Senate elections are closely related to electoral reforms. All political parties should work together to end horse-trading. Selling votes is akin to selling one’s soul. How an individual who belongs to no party is contesting Senate elections,” he said at the APC.