THE name ‘Pakistan’ has become synonymous with volatile politics, military influence, unstable democracy, fundamentalism and a historically anti-democratic stance. Lacs of people made supreme sacrifices during the Liberation War in the hope of enjoying democratic protection of their rights and fair justice. But even after the 43 years of Independence the cherished democracy remains a far cry in Bangladesh due to the wrecked constitutional and democratic institutions where as Pakistan in some cases has set examples. The surprising news from Pakistan, besides regular bomb blasts and US airstrikes alongside its borders, is that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday suspended the membership of as many as 211 members of parliament and the four provincial assemblies for their failure to submit details of their assets and liabilities. The stance and strength of ECP disgracefully pokes our mind to recall the roles of our Election Commission during the last voter-less January 05 national election.
The ECP notification said, besides 40 members of the National Assembly, two of the Senate, 98 members of the Punjab Assembly, 32 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 28 members of the Sindh Assembly and nine members of the Balochistan Assembly have been suspended. They include even a sitting Minister. These lawmakers will not be able to attend the respective sessions of the legislatures. Many MNAs and MPAs belonging to PTI have also complied with the legal requirement, including its Chairman Imran Khan, despite having submitted their resignations as MNAs.
The suspension will be over when they comply with the legal requirement. The ECP recently recommended that the parliament reform electoral policy by adding punitive action against non-filers. However, the ECP is keen on carrying out a scrutiny of the assets and liabilities details of the legislators.
In India, the Election Commission in April this year exposed its strength by launching a crackdown on black money and compelling the West Bengal government to agree to its move to transfer some officials; comparatively our EC played the second fiddle to the ruling party. The ECs of the neighbouring countries continuously strive to improve the electoral process and our EC strives towards being more loyal to the ruling elite. Constitutionally the three ECs are independent but Bangladesh EC works as a subservient branch of the government, which ultimately ruins our democratic advancement.
Pakistan and Indian ECs control the administration where Bangladesh EC is being controlled by the administration. The roles of the Election Commission are vital for establishing the rights of citizens to elect their representatives, which was denied in the last elections held on January 5, 2014, due to the ham-fisted and subservient roles of the EC. The once anti-democratic Pakistan is progressing towards a strong democracy and we are going on a tangential route –a route contrary to democracy for which martyrs sacrificed their lives in 1971. What a great pity!
