Which way now?

The fourth day after an election ideally a semblance of a government should be coming about – alliances being made or broken; and tentative ministers being figured out. Not so for us. On February 11, three days after the general election, we are still awaiting the complete official results. The only entity to pester about this is the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). There is no possible excuse for these delays, which are just an addition to a long list of election-related scepticism that has cropped up. The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has spoken up, saying that the suspension of mobile services on polling day and this delay in the release of poll results have damaged parliamentary efforts made through the Election Act, and asking the ECP to "promptly address and resolve candidates’ complaints, as timely resolution is crucial for maintaining electoral credibility”.

The suspension of mobile services and delay in results has led to an international reaction as well. On Friday, the US, the United Kingdom and the European Union raised questions on the “credibility of polls and lack of fairness” in the February 8 polls. This has expectedly not gone down well with the Foreign Office that says it is surprised by the “negative tone” of statements issued by some organizations and countries on the general elections held in Pakistan, and that these statements ignore the undeniable fact that Pakistan held general elections peacefully and successfully, while dealing with serious security threats.

Pakistan desperately needs stability. The February 8 polls were supposed to bring about this stability. Instead, we have landed in an even bigger mess. Over 50 million voters participated in the elections, giving a turnout of around 48 per cent. Even the most ‘neutral’ analysis says that the people’s mandate – as it were – is being ignored or is in danger of being ignored. It really is quite absurd that on a day when polling was held smoothly almost in the entire country barring a few exceptions, the ECP’s delayed results have led to a lot of speculation and conspiracy theories that have cast doubts about the transparency of these polls. The ECP had just one job: to hold free and fair elections. In our case, we even tried to ignore the ‘fair and free’ part and settled for ‘elections’. But now even the electoral exercise seems tainted. Candidates and parties are crying rigging; there has already been violence as a result, with the NDM's Mohsin Dawar being injured after being shot at while protesting his delayed result. None of this bodes well for the coming government.

For now, the ECP needs to clear the air and announce all results. After that, political parties will need to figure out how to reconcile with whatever realities emerge. If alliances must be made, let them be made. If the people have spoken, let them be heard. This is the least a democracy can promise – the choice to choose our own representatives.