The issue of the by-poll in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is taking importance with every passing day as the Election Commission of Pakistan has failed in giving any date for the by-polls in the province.
The constitution is loud and clear that elections are mandatory on the dissolution of the assembly within a span of maximum 90 days. There is no mention of ifs and buts, nor any room for executive maneuvering. Thus, calls for delaying the polls are unsubstantiated as per law and the constitution, and the Governor K-P would be better advised to toe the constitution and dispense his responsibilities, accordingly.
But we have precedents of delaying polls in special conditions specially after the take over of General Ziaul Haq, who ousted Zulfiqar Bhutto’s government, initially he promised to hold the polls within 3 months and after maryrdom of Benazir Bhutto, the polls were also delayed for some time.
Pakistan is passing through degeneration. Politics has been unnerving, to say the least, since the ouster of prime minister Imran Khan’s government in April last year. Not only has bickering taken a front seat, it has adversely impacted institutional functioning, too. At a time when the economy is nosedived, and the coalition government is struggling to strike a new deal with the IMF to stay afloat, delaying of polls will come at the cost of societal unrest. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s cardinal demand is general elections in order to restore stability, and with two provincial assemblies dissolved and polls mandatory as per constitution, any hiccup strategy would prove to be detrimental.
Political parties across the board need to look at the bigger picture. Conducting of census and security concerns are important, but can wait in the larger interest of political stability. Decisions taken on exigency grounds will be toiling, and Pakistan cannot afford another civil strife at a critical juncture of its existence. Let both the provinces go to poll and buoy national solidarity.
