Key Western countries have conveyed to Pakistan that any delay in the parliamentary elections beyond a certain timeframe would trigger serious consequences for the country, including the potential downgrading of ties.
Diplomatic sources told Republic policy on Sunday that the United States and the European Union had been closely following the developments in Pakistan with regard to the elections, these countries had always advocated democracy.
ACCORDING TO THE SOURCES, the US and the EU believed that elections were the essence of any progressive democratic society. But there were concerns in the Western capitals that elections might not take place in Pakistan and the current caretaker set-up might stick around beyond it mandated time.
Elections after the dissolution of the assemblies would have to take place within 90 days as per the Constitution. However, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) during the fag end of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government approved the new census results.
In view of the CCI’s move, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) then announced the fresh delimitation exercise by the digital census, 2023, insisting that it was bound by the law to redraw the constituencies before the next elections.
The exercise will take up to four months, and elections can occur. The diplomatic sources said that a delay of a couple of months because of delimitation and certain technicalities could be tolerated.
However, a source said that if elections are delayed beyond February next year, that might invoke serious consequences for the country. “Frankly, if elections are delayed beyond February, it will be extremely difficult for us to maintain the same level of bilateral engagement with Pakistan as we are doing now.”
It is believed that in case of delay in elections, Western countries, which particularly take democracy very seriously, might revisit their cooperation with Pakistan. This could negatively impact Pakistan’s engagement with the US-led financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Not only the Western countries wanted on-time elections but they also want a level playing field for all the political parties. “This is something we will be keeping a close eye on,” said another diplomatic source, referring to the media restriction and crackdown against certain political parties.
