It seems the Supreme Courts (SC’s) judgment has fallen on deaf ears. The five-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial, had given a verdict with a 3-2 majority, ordering the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be held within 90 days. As a result, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the schedule for the elections in Punjab, fixing April 30 as the polling date. However, the Election Commission has so far failed to set a schedule for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as its meeting with Governor Ghulam Ali did not yield any results.
But now, the overall process seems to be in doubt. The authorities, who have a major role in conducting the polls appear to be unready to undertake the exercise. In a recent meeting of officials of the Finance Division with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, the issue of lack of funds and shortage of security personnel came up. Officials said Rs 20 billion was required to undertake the
electoral exercise in Punjab and KP and Rs 65 billion for general elections. At present, they only had Rs 5 billion available. The ECP, meanwhile, maintained that elections were a constitutional requirement and cited the Supreme Court’s recent judgment.
According to a senior official of the ECP, 297,000 additional security personnel in Punjab and 56,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were needed for the polls. Keeping security in view, the ECP has called on the interior secretary to contact the army, Rangers, and other law enforcement agencies to make the necessary arrangements.
A delegation of PTI leaders also met Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and brought to his attention their concerns regarding the delay in elections and the holding of rallies. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who headed the delegation, said PTI Chairman Imran Khan had tasked the team with engaging the commission on holding fair, free, and transparent elections. Under the present circumstances, elections are unavoidable. The country cannot afford any more uncertainly. We need a stable government to steer the country in the right direction. Political wrangling would do no good. Elections have to be held sooner than later. By delaying the polls, the authorities are, in a way, favoring the PTI. Its popularity graph is rising. This can be ascertained from the results of the recently held by-elections in Rajanpur.
