The Night After

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A royal mess if ever there was one. That is how the February 2024 elections are being viewed generally. And that sentiment is not wrong! The muddle the two leading parties find themselves in goes to prove one thing – the short-term memory of the electorate is just that, short. The poor end of the Imran Khan tenure has been quickly forgotten owing to the even worse debacle of the PDM government. Though, whoever had the reigns then would have seen the same fate. Even now – all parties jostling for power should remember that come the next election cycle they will be nowhere to be seen. The math is simple and the writing clear on the wall – difficult and excruciating decisions lay ahead and whoever makes them will put the first nail in their political coffin. Thus, it is surprising – and perhaps naive – to see almost all parties missing chances to concede defeat and sit in the opposition. For the PML (N), Mian Nawaz Sharif could have easily taken forming the government off the table during his so-called victory speech, made Maryam Nawaz leader of the opposition and then waited to claim actual victory with a majority in the next elections. For the PPP, Asif Ali Zardari could have easily gone along with Bilawal’s stance that sitting in the opposition is far better than handling a difficult coalition which needs to make even more difficult decisions. For the PTI, Gohar Khan and other top tier leaders could have easily stepped aside, notwithstanding their issue with election results, and prepare for the next elections from a position of further strength. I can appreciate why the PML (N) must form the government. After all, in a Faustian bargain one can seldom take a step back! That PML (N) – with all the wind in their sails – couldn’t win a simple majority meant that the PPP had to be cajoled to join the government to make the numbers. That also makes sense but there is no reason for the PTI to force the hand! Gohar Khan and company can demand their pound of flesh while even sitting in the opposition. But only if they don’t miss the forest for the trees!

We are where we are. But where to next?

First, some silver linings to these ominous and dark clouds. Contestants conceding defeat – this is a first particularly when instance of such incidents is more than one. Khawaja Saad Rafique and Mian Javed Latif come to mind. They may have internal grudges or ulterior motives but at-least congratulating their opponents on winning and not whinging too much about the result must be appreciated. Winning candidate forfeiting his seat – once again not much to harp about but Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman must be applauded for surrendering his win in the Sindh Assembly. He may have his eye on the National Assembly seat from Karachi but that doesn’t negate his gesture. Voters making history – the general population made its voice heard against all odds, hindrances, inept judgements, state heavy handedness and judicial & bureaucratic inequality. Media moving towards impartiality – it was good to see that broadly no media house tried to defend the indefensible. Some aggressively spoke truth to power while others could only muster courage to diplomatically point out the irregularities that were seen on and after election night. But as a minimum, there was consensus that electoral fairness has been tossed by the wayside.

Second, what now? First and foremost has to be the alignment of results with valid and certified form 45s. Candidates winning by a margin of 50,000 votes or more with 99% polling stations reporting and then losing due to the votes from that 1% is completely ludicrous! Form 47 is a simple mathematical exercise of addition and collation and it is hard to see how this can be mishandled but there is no dearth of Aristotles in our good graces! Trust in the democratic process stands at a knife edge due to this visible injustice. It is time for our superior judiciary to put their money where their mouth is! It will hardly take a couple of hours for the high court or supreme court to reconcile the differences between form 45s and form 47 of one constituency. Have courage my lords! The iron is hot and this is the time to strike. Subsequently, all political parties must admit the mandate given to the other. This also includes PTI which needs to align to the adage that diplomacy is the better part of valour. There are times when one needs to see beyond the zero-sum-game and onto a way to navigate out of turmoil. They should not jettison their core demands or party ideals but must find a way of letting go of peripheral and tertiary interests. Furthermore, provincial governments – supposedly PPP in Sindh, PML (N) in Punjab, PTI in KPI and PPP/PML (N) in Baluchistan – need to find a way of working with the government in the centre. That will be most problematic as that boils down to who forms the federal government and how much appetite there is to avoid confrontation and seek mutual & beneficial existence. Lastly, all powers and institutions need to respect and implement the voice of the people. If not for the country today then for the sake of generations to come. This hapless population has fronted a lot and their ordeal is not about to end, please allow them the favour of having a government they have voted for!

Published in Daily Times