Article 62 & 63 - ECP’s Aces and the Poor Politicians

Elections are about to be held in Pakistan and of course these elections have great significance in deciding the future course of the country. Though every election and every political process that Pakistan will go through in future will take it a step forward towards the consolidation of the political and democratic bases of this country but the Elections that are to be held on 11^th of May, 2013 are definitely going to be one of the most difficult yet most important elections of Pakistan. Parties are making alliances with each other, accusing others of corruption and also trying to attract the common voter through every possible means.

The Pakistan Muslim League (N) opened its election campaign on 25^th of March in Mansehra in front of a massive crowd while Imran Khan started his campaign with a mammoth Jalsa at Minaar e Pakistan, Lahore. PPP, however, is yet to open the account. But the election season has set in and rumours and constant influx of news has made the life of the media personnel and reporters easy. In fact nobody is bothering to cross check the reports and their authenticity these days. All they need is a report, correct or incorrect.

But what’s happening in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is literally the funniest part so far and the way they have been treating the politicians is certainly fun for many, though the sane minds throughout the country look at them in a different way and most of them term it offensive and even blaming the ECP of conspiring against democracy. All this hue and cry is about the Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution and the main issue is of the fake degrees that were provided by most of the applicants in the 2002 and 2008 elections when it was mandatory for a person to at least be graduate in order to represent the people at National and Provincial levels. Although the clause has now been removed but those who had provided the fake degrees are now being brought to the book for having shown fake degrees previously. They are now ineligible according to the Article 62 that compels a person to be honest in all his dealings in order to be a public representative.

On this issue, almost everyone believes that such people should not only be disallowed from contesting the polls but also given punishments and prisons for having lied to the people and also to the state. But the problems get worse when it goes down to another level. The applicants are being forced to recite all the 6 Holy verses (Kalma) and a prayer (Dua-e-Qunoot) is also being listened and those who are failing the tests are not being allowed to contest the elections. Now, this is something that is not being welcomed by the liberal and secular minded people and they believe it to be irrelevant in managing the affairs of the state while there is the rightist element as well that is totally in favour of the implementation of this clause.

Respectable voices, including renowned human rights activist Asma Jehangir and Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood, have been raised against the practice while on the other side honourable people like Ansar Abbasi and Dr. Shahid Masood believe the practice to be strictly in line with the constitution and also feel that it is necessary for the people who want to represent the people to know about these basics. The arguments of both the sides seem to be strong and it is certainly difficult for a lay man like me to choose a side but still I am trying to analyze it according to my understanding of the matter.

First of all, it is a false belief that most of the people in the country have learnt the 6 Kalmas and Dua-e-Qunoot. It is a fact and I challenge any person in favour of this clause to conduct a survey in any part of the country and hardly 20% would be able to fulfill the requirement. I believe that the person representing the public should be like public. But the counter argument also seems to be valid that the representative must be better in qualities than a normal man and also that it is a constitutional provision so must be fulfilled.

The other problem is that the proceedings are being covered by the media. Now, here I have simply failed figure it out that why is that so. If someone isn’t able to recite the 6 Kalmas then why is it necessary for him to be embarrassed before the public? Isn’t it between him and his God? Why do we need to humiliate him? And then there begins a malicious campaign on the social media against that applicant. Is this how we should be treating people? Is Election Commission a school or a Madrassa where Qari sahib would punish the kid before all the class to teach everyone a lesson? This is certainly not done and every sane mind would definitely condemn such an act, whether it is being done by the ECP or the media. We have no right to humiliate someone for not being able to learn a long verse in a language that he does not even understand.

On fake degrees issue, there is no second opinion. Those people committed a crime, lied to their people, lied to the nation, lied to the state organs and must be humiliated and punished but the other practices th

at are being carried out must be checked. If there is a provision, it must be fulfilled but it does not permit me or anyone to humiliate and disgrace a person on media. Politicians are the easiest targets in any country and same is the case with Pakistan. No other institution in the country goes through such a tough scrutiny process so if I wasn’t asked by my employer about the Dua-e-Qunoot when he hired me, I have no right to humiliate someone who wasn’t able to learn it by heart. It was my luck that I didn’t have to go through that test and I can assure everyone reading these lines that most of us recite Surah Ikhlaas in Isha prayers thrice while offering the Witr.

Now there is another issue. The ECP has added a new box in the ballot paper that will be empty and by checking which the voter will signify that he did not believe any of the candidates of being worthy of his vote. This is another attempt, in my opinion, to prove that Pakistan is not fit for democracy and the minds behind this innovative idea also belong to the same clan that always believed that Pakistanis must be dealt with a stick. It is a fact that politicians are never loved anywhere in the world. There is a large majority that believes no man to be fit enough to represent them and they don’t go to vote. Now instead of making it compulsory for them to vote so that they must choose the least worse of the lot at least, they are being given a choice to show total disapproval of the entire electoral system.

The foundations of the first dent in the credibility of the future government of Pakistan have already been laid. The self-righteous journalists and those who will lose the election will always keep the winners reminding that most of the people of the country did not want the ruling party/parties to be in power. Isn’t it going to discredit the political and democratic process in the country that has been restored after so many sacrifices? I wonder who is advising ECP to invent such wonderful ways of discrediting democracy. However, I should not be wondering about it. We all know who does that.

I seriously feel, and may be blamed for committing blasphemy after sharing my opinion, that this clause must be edited when the new parliament comes into existence. I know it is difficult and all the Mullah Mafia along with all its media and social media warriors who are no angels themselves will wreak havoc throughout the country but the strength of a parliament only lies in its strong decisions. It was a great ploy set for the future politicians of the country by General Zia ul Haque and later added on by General Pervez Musharraf in a completely different way. The two clauses together have knocked out several people from the electoral process and it is the duty of the politicians now to make it workable at least. I am not against the clauses related to truthfulness and honesty but at least the clause that compels the applicants to recite the verses before the ECP should be amended. If it is not compulsory for any other job in the country then politicians should also be exempted.

Right now, the media should be stopped from covering the proceedings and only the end result of the application by a candidate should be shared with the media by the Election Commission of Pakistan. If his application is accepted, the media should be told that he has qualified while if he fails to qualify, the media should just be told that he wasn’t able to fulfill the constitutional requirements and there should be no mention of the reason of his disqualification.

It is hard to be a politician in this country and negative sentiment among the public for this poor political lot is extensive. No further humiliation is required as there is enough already.