The judicial commission we have been hearing about for months to probe the 2013 general elections and allegations from the PTI of massive manipulation in them is finally in place. Following the completion of formalities ordered by the federal government Chief Justice of the Supreme Court JusticeNasirul Mulk has set up a three-member commission which he himself will head. As expected, the commission, which also includes Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, has asked all political parties and others to provide evidence by April 15 so that the commission can begin speedy hearings. The setting up of the commission brings to an end a long dispute between the PTI and the government. It appears matters are now settled on this front with the PTI having already returned to the assemblies. Both sides have indicated they will accept whatever result the commission comes up with, and the finance minister has said that a fresh election is possible if large-scale rigging or unfair play is found.
The process by which the judicial commission sets about looking into the conduct of the election will be very closely watched. Again, following government directives, it will try to reach a conclusion as quickly as possible so that a matter that has lingered on for many months can be finally resolved. It has been nearly two years since the last general elections were held. Certainly by now we need to know if they were fair. If the allegations of the PTI are found to be correct this would mean a major upheaval in the country. We must also hope that the PTI will accept whatever conclusions the commission reaches without staging further protests. While the party has said it will do so some doubt arises from the fact that Imran Khan himself was reportedly reluctant to return to the assemblies until the probe findings had come forward. PTI leaders also continue to term the assemblies as illegitimate. Given this overall situation we need a definite closure to a controversy that has been threatening to disrupt democracy. It is also likely that no matter what the final verdict of the commission, it will pinpoint flaws in the electoral process and take up issues such as that of the ink used, the fingerprinting process itself and other discrepancies. It is important that we learn about these so that amendments can be made in the future and disputes such as the one we have seen erupt in our country between two major parties are averted in the future. http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-8-311857-Reaching-conclusions
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