Pakistan General Election 2018: Civil society, parties slam 'interference'

Amid the charged political environment, representatives of different civil society organisations and main political parties in Pakistan, barring Imran Khan-led PTI, yesterday condemned the alleged electoral irregularities and 'interference' ahead of the July 25 polls.

The civil society groups, who held a consultation to reflect on the challenges ahead of general elections, also shared concerns about the shrinking space for freedom of expression in the country.

On Friday, Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) granted broad judicial powers to the powerful military at polling stations during next week's general election, a rare move that has fanned concern among political parties and human rights groups.

The July 25 election is seen as a two-way race between parties led by former cricket star Imran Khan and now-jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has accused the army of working behind the scenes to favour Khan, which it denies.

About 371,000 troops will spread out across Pakistan to guard the election, about three times the number during the last election in 2013. In a notice this month, the Election Commission gave soldiers the authority of a "magistrate", to hold on-the-spot trials of anyone breaking election laws and sentence them.

Former Senate chairman and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Raza Rabbani yesterday slammed at the ECP's "criminal silence" over perceived irregularities in the run-up to the polls, warning of "dire consequences" for the government if the elections are "engineered".

Senator Rabbani, while addressing the Upper House, raised questions over the role of the armed forces in the polling process.

"At first, the ECP kept saying that soldiers would be deployed outside polling stations. Now it's saying they will be also be deployed inside. What is the reason for their being stationed inside?" he asked.

He drew the Senate's attention towards restrictions being placed on the media by disruptions to the circulation of certain newspapers and instructions to television channels not to air certain programmes.

"Is the ECP sleeping?" he asked, wondering if the ECP had failed to notice that "two major parties of the country are being targeted".

He referred to stoppage of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's convoy at various points, as well as an incident of stone pelting at a meeting held by former premier and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The former Senate chairman also criticised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for summoning election candidates and interrupting their campaigns.

Rabbani lambasted both the ECP and the caretaker government, saying they had "failed to fulfil their constitutional responsibilities"

"How is this leading to free and fair elections?" he asked, adding that "if the elections are being engineered, there will be dire consequences."

His concerns were echoed by senators belonging to the embattled PML-N on Friday.

 Expressing serious reservations about the electoral process, Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi warned that "dark clouds are looming over the elections" and that the nation would have to bear a "heavy loss" if the situation didn't change.

Abbasi claimed that political parties are not being allowed opportunities to conduct their election campaigns; that "filters are being installed" before the elections and that police personnel are hounding PML-N leaders.

"(We) don't see free and fair elections taking place in Pakistan," he said, adding that the PML-N's link with voters could not be broken by imprisoning its leader Nawaz  Sharif.

The three-time prime minister was arrested earlier in the month on graft charges which is widely regarded as a conspiracy by many in Pakistan ahead of the polls. 

Referring to Imran Khan, Abbasi also alleged that an atmosphere was being created for "one leader" to run his election campaign and urged the ECP to "open its eyes".

Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq expressed reservations over the decision to give magisterial powers to military personnel during elections.

Meanwhile, Pakistan civil rights groups condemned 'large scale' interference in electoral process by undemocratic elements.

Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research director Karamat Ali said that alongside “increasing interference in the electoral process which is anti-democratic, onslaught on the independent press is also a matter of grave concern. These attacks and this kind of interference we have never witnessed before on such a large scale in the political history of the country.”

He spoke about how different media houses and television anchors were being targeted and an environment of self-censorship was being imposed; political engineering by some state institutions to give benefit to a particular political party, he explained, had become a serious issue. He labelled these as attacks against freedom of expression.

“If this situation does not change, smooth elections do not seem likely, with an overwhelming presence and interference of undemocratic elements in the elections. This will have very negative long-term implications for the country,” he added.

“There is chaos and anarchy in this country and this will continue even after the election,” said Nasir Mansoor of National Trade Union Federation.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has also predicted that the coming general elections will be the dirtiest, most micromanaged and most intensively participated polls in the country's history.

Highlighting the alleged interference by 'a state within state' in Pakistan, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) last Wednesday explicitly asked the army chief and the top spymaster to stop meddling in affairs of other departments.

IHC's Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui directed the secretaries of the ministry of interior and defence to place the court's order before the chief of army staff (COAS) and director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), wherein he emphasised that secret agencies need to realise that they have to confine themselves within the boundaries of the constitution.