The PTI may have a flair for drama but possesses precious little regard for democratic norms. Ever since Imran Khan announced that all his MNAs would resign from the National Assembly, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has made clear that each MNA would have to confirm their intention to vacate their seats alone and in person. The thinking behind this is that the MNAs may have been pressurised to resign by Imran against their will. There is some reason to believe this may be the case since only 25 of the party’s 33 legislators showed up at the National Assembly, with one member being sick and Imran himself staying away. This means at least six PTI MNAs may not wish to resign and there are reports that a total of 15 want to retain their seats and had been assured by Shah Mehmood Qureshi that there would be no resignations handed in. Whether those reports are true or not, it is undeniable that the MNAs were there to provoke further controversy rather than follow the speaker’s rules. They showed up en masse and wanted to collectively confirm their resignations. The only reason they would do this is the worry that the MNAs would waver if the party leadership wasn’t around to pressure them. Now the PTI wants to clarify its stance by writing to the ECP, but this is likely another distraction since the power of the election body to involve itself in parliamentary matters is limited.
Opposition leader Khursheed Shah has now urged the MNAs to not be afraid of the party leadership and follow the procedures for resigning. One cannot help but remember how Shah Mehmood Qureshi, after giving his fiery speech at the joint session of parliament, was asked by the speaker to come to his office to confirm his resignation but chose to ignore that and flamboyantly walked out. The double game it seems the PTI has been playing all along is to press for the dismissal of the government but to retain its seats if that doesn’t work out. Had the PTI MNAs resigned and the government survived, the party would have lost seats in the next Senate elections. This mix of revolutionary fervour on the surface and calculating pragmatism underneath is an unappealing combination. The negotiating jirga team has urged the government not to accept the resignations with the rationale that it will box the PTI into a corner and possibly lead to midterm elections. But the system should be strong enough to survive this prolonged drama, no matter how it ends.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Pakistan: The PTI circus
The PTI may have a flair for drama but possesses precious little regard for democratic norms. Ever since Imran Khan announced that all his MNAs would resign from the National Assembly, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has made clear that each MNA would have to confirm their intention to vacate their seats alone and in person. The thinking behind this is that the MNAs may have been pressurised to resign by Imran against their will. There is some reason to believe this may be the case since only 25 of the party’s 33 legislators showed up at the National Assembly, with one member being sick and Imran himself staying away. This means at least six PTI MNAs may not wish to resign and there are reports that a total of 15 want to retain their seats and had been assured by Shah Mehmood Qureshi that there would be no resignations handed in. Whether those reports are true or not, it is undeniable that the MNAs were there to provoke further controversy rather than follow the speaker’s rules. They showed up en masse and wanted to collectively confirm their resignations. The only reason they would do this is the worry that the MNAs would waver if the party leadership wasn’t around to pressure them. Now the PTI wants to clarify its stance by writing to the ECP, but this is likely another distraction since the power of the election body to involve itself in parliamentary matters is limited.
Opposition leader Khursheed Shah has now urged the MNAs to not be afraid of the party leadership and follow the procedures for resigning. One cannot help but remember how Shah Mehmood Qureshi, after giving his fiery speech at the joint session of parliament, was asked by the speaker to come to his office to confirm his resignation but chose to ignore that and flamboyantly walked out. The double game it seems the PTI has been playing all along is to press for the dismissal of the government but to retain its seats if that doesn’t work out. Had the PTI MNAs resigned and the government survived, the party would have lost seats in the next Senate elections. This mix of revolutionary fervour on the surface and calculating pragmatism underneath is an unappealing combination. The negotiating jirga team has urged the government not to accept the resignations with the rationale that it will box the PTI into a corner and possibly lead to midterm elections. But the system should be strong enough to survive this prolonged drama, no matter how it ends.
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