Pakistan: ECP fails to do its duty

The results of whole exercise of May 11 parliamentary polls seems to be landing in a major swamp of uncertainty upon the reported overkill in the turnout, rigging and several other irregularities and no else than the Election Commission of Pakistan is responsible for the great mess it has created. Being the ECP chief, Chief Election Commissioner Fakharuddin G Ibrahim has to accept the responsibility. It is in this background that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf chairperson Imran Khan on Saturday pleaded that the CEC should have taken the nation into confidence on all the matters relating to the rigging of polls through the ballot box or manipulation or both. Khan was justified saying that the continued silence of Mr Ibrahim over allegations in the conduct of the election, amounted to a immoral, if not illegal, attitude and he must explain his position. Needless to say that all state institutions, including the country's armed forces, promptly responded to the ECP call for help before and on the polling day. Yet the people at the helm of affairs failed to deliver; they simply could not rise to the call of the people and political parties and, in fact a whole process of democratic transition. How harmful the failure of holding fair and transparent elections can be cannot be overemphasized; these are not only a medium for transition of one democratic government to another but also tends to undermine the mandate of the people given to different political organization. No doubt the elections have brought forth a lot of elected representatives relatively better than the past. More than 180 million people have pinned their hopes in the coming leadership which faces huge challenges ahead, more particularly the end to religious extremism and militancy and mitigating circumstances surfacing in the wake to unending energy crisis that has already taken a heavy toll of the national life. And above all, the successful democratic transition promises the strengthening of all state institutions that is vital for the future of the country. Evaluating the entire process on the touchstone of democratic practicability, it looks like the ECP has faltered to a degree as to be termed as a conspiracy or at least abetting in this terrible scheme of things. The caretaker administration cannot escape the responsibility either of making a muddle of the electoral exercise. If the two still withhold such an explanation, the people would be justified holding them responsible for the biggest electoral irregularity so far. This is why voices for the removal of the CEC are being raised.