In a fresh move, Lahore High Court has nullified the notification of Election Commission of Pakistan regarding the appointment of District Returning Officers(DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs)from the bureaucracy. Whereas the Islamabad High Court has asked ECP to revise the delimitation of two constituencies. Both the court verdicts have enhanced the level of uncertainty about the elections.
There are several petitions submitted in the apex courts against the delimitations finalized by the Election Commission on the basis of recently held papulation census and if the court would respond to all these objections, then the elections could be delayed.
Now in the current scenario, even some of the top political leadership of the country is not sure that elections might be held in the country on the exact date given by the Election Commission i.e. 8th February ,2024.
In a fresh speech, the head of JUI(F) has stated that though the people are being martyred in the terrorist’s attack daily, in spite of it, his party is in favour of elections. It seems an ordinary statement but he is showing his apprehensions about the deteriorating law and order situation in the country. As a matter fact, it is the expression of fear by a major political leader that he is indicating that the political parties may face the perils in the run for elections. On the other hand, the caretaker interior minister also warned the leaders that they may face some threats during the election campaign.
There is less than two months’ time remaining in the election but contrary to the past, the atmosphere of electioneering could not be developed so far due to which the people are also in ambiguity about the future of the polls. Furthermore, the Election Commission could not announce the schedule for the elections yet, which is producing more doubts among the nation.
One of the most important factors, which may cause delay in elections is the increasing incidents of terrorism in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The sabotage attacks by the terrorists are taking place in various parts of the country near the Afghan border on an almost daily basis.
There is also a debate running on social media about the postponement of elections in the country some more time. If we see it closely, we will find a factual situation that some authoritative circles often utilize social media for knowing peoples’ point of view on any matter by making it viral. The discussion among the people paves the way for them to make any decision on the subject. So the talks about delaying the elections in the country could also be part of the same tactics to identify the feelings of the people about the polls.