The Supreme Court has praised political parties’ attempts to come to an agreement on holding national and provincial assembly elections on the same day and stated that the best way to overcome political disputes is through discussion and agreement among all parties involved in politics. Both the PDM and PTI submitted their reports following a series of discussions. Khawaja Saad Rafique of the PML-N briefed the court that if talks go on, a consensus on a particular date can be reached. The PTI, according to Shah Mahmood Qureshi, disagrees and claims that the dialogue has not advanced to their satisfaction.
The SC has recognized what many have been emphasizing for almost a year: that only a dialogue between all political forces can result in a resolution of issues between political parties, and that no other force or institution can “force” political parties into resolving their disputes unless there is a thorough dialogue between these sides. The PDM appears optimistic about reaching a compromise, which is encouraging because it demonstrates the government’s commitment to having elections this year, either in October or November.
Government representatives claim that the PTI Chairman Imran Khan reportedly refused to agree to the election schedule during the PTI and PDM dialogue prior to the May 9 violence. There is hope that this problem will be handled definitively now that the PDM has rekindled some interest in further discussion.
If an election date is set, there are other crucial issues that must be resolved that go beyond political differences. It is imperative that the government understands how crucial it is to hold elections on time; the 90-day election issue in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is already a glaring stain on a government that claims to be democratic. The cost of elections will be rather expensive at a time when inflation is at an all-time high and poverty has increased beyond what the government had anticipated. That may be the case, but the nation must still deal with this as elections are the only way to get past the current political and economic crisis.
Instead of causing new conflicts, these elections ought to focus on resolving old ones.
As we have already seen, there would be far too many problems if the census issue is not resolved by the government along with other political groups, particularly in Sindh’s metropolitan areas. Although the NFC Award and the 18th Amendment outlined a course for provincial resources, the economic downturn is causing problems for the provinces. This needs to be settled peacefully.
Now that the PTI is in turmoil and a number of other groups have already arisen, including the Democrats, Haqiqi, JKT, and other groups which are rumored to be in the pipeline, many are speculating whether the elections will see another PDM-type government.
According to electoral analysts and experts, there is a possibility of a second coalition government in the center, which might include some of the PDM administration’s current coalition partners and some new ones. Some commentators predict that the PPP will win the majority of seats in the centre, with Sindh almost probably going to them. They also predict that the PPP will win seats in Balochistan and southern Punjab.
With so many PTI splinter groups, the Punjab elections will be particularly interesting, but it will also rely on Imran Khan’s future and his legal proceedings. One thing is certain: there can be no stability without elections. Some of these questions will have their answers closer to the elections. In order to create stability in the wake of a difficult year, things need to calm down right away.
