The U.S Senator Tom Dacchle has said that there is an overwhelming evidence in favour of the view that Pakistan’s forthcoming elections are not going to be free and fair. He has contended that none of the conditions essential for a visibly fair electoral process seems to have been met, and the only reason for believing that the elections will be free and fair is the repeated assurance on the part of President Musharraf that such will be the case.
Tom Dacchle has made a very strong case in favour of meeting minimum, if not all, requisites of reasonably fair polls. According to him the right time to act is now because tomorrow may be too late. “If the elections,” he has argued, “are held in a dubious manner under dubious arrangement through a dubious machinery, the very purpose of the whole electoral exercise is going to be assassinated. The results will have no credibility and will not lead to the formation of a legitimate government.”
Nothing can be closer to truth than what the U.S Senator has surmised.
Perhaps the worst sufferer of any elections – not held under an unquestionable procedure by an unquestionable authority through an unquestionable machinery – is going to be the Q-League itself because the credibility of its victory will not only be questioned but also challenged.
By appearing to be in a position to rig the elections in its favour and doctor the results to its advantage, the Q-League is already losing heavily in terms of ‘moral authority’. It will be practically impossible for it to make a convincing case for its ‘projected victory’ after the elections.
Meaning thereby that it is in the best long-term interests of the Q-League to demand the removal of all such ‘conditions’ that are regarded as ‘ideally suited for rigging.’
30-4-2014
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