NOVEMBER 17 proved to be reassuring for the ruling alliance but the opposition termed it as the blackest day in the parliamentary history of the country after the joint session of Parliament passed record 33 bills in one day including those relating to the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and voting rights for the Overseas Pakistanis.
As the Government and its allies are celebrating their victory with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry claiming that the opposition would remember its ‘historic defeat’ on crucial legislation for years to come, the combined opposition has vowed to knock the doors of the Supreme Court levelling allegations of illegalities committed by Speaker Asad Qaiser, who presided over the joint sitting of the two houses.
After the landmark victory in getting the required legislation approved from the joint session, the Government leaders proudly said PTI has fulfilled longstanding pledges made with the people about grant of right to vote to Overseas Pakistanis and the use of EVMs in the general elections.
The outcome of the joint session has sent a clear message to political opponents of the PTI that the numerical majority of the incumbent government was still intact despite rumours triggered by the defeat of the treasury benches in the National Assembly a few days back at the time of introduction of two bills in the house.
It also demonstrated that the Government continues to enjoy support of the allies and reports about differences and serious grievances were not as weighty as they were being portrayed by some circles.
There were also speculations about rifts in the coalition after the Government postponed the joint session abruptly immediately after notification of its convening.
Parliament passed 33 bills but serious controversy surrounds two pieces of legislation concerning electoral reforms – use of EVMs and right of vote for Overseas Pakistanis, as both the combined opposition and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which has the responsibility to hold elections, had expressed grave concerns over them, expressing fears that premature implementation of these reforms would seriously dent the credibility of the entire election.
No doubt, the Government claims it went for the use of EVMs to guard against the possibility of rigging and change of results but neutral experts, the opposition and the ECP believe these machines are vulnerable to manipulation and hacking.
IT professionals too have been warning that despite advantages of the use of EVMs, the electronic voting systems are actually more vulnerable to rigging than paper-based elections as security vulnerabilities are easily exploited by hackers.
They also point out that ensuring voter privacy is easy with a physical ballot box but this is difficult in case of use of EVMs, which also routinely malfunction, losing, adding or switching votes.
Unfortunately, the way the Government handled the issues of the electronic voting system and right of votes for overseas Pakistanis created doubts about an otherwise well-intentioned plan.
Only a week back, the government postponed the scheduled session of Parliament on the plea that it wanted to take the opposition on board and in fact, the Prime Minister mandated the Speaker of the National Assembly to approach the opposition.
The Speaker did write a letter and got a detailed response from the leader of the opposition but things stopped at that and doors of the dialogue were shut in a mysterious manner.
No doubt, politically the Government has achieved victory in the immediate context as it got from the joint session what it wanted to get but in the long run this would harm national unity and solidarity.
The tendency of unilateral legislation on crucial issues would divide the already highly polarized nation further and this doesn’t augur well for the political and economic stability.
The declared motives of the Government were to bury the allegations of rigging in the elections but its insistence to use EVMs at all costs without accommodating concerns of the opposition and the Election Commission has made the electoral reform process more controversial with the opposition claiming it is part of the plan to rig the elections.
The latest development might also widen the gulf of mistrust between the Government and the opposition obviating the chances of any meaningful engagement on important issues.
Now, it is highly likely that the opposition would focus on a two-track policy of challenging the legislation in the apex court and increasing pressure on the government both inside and outside Parliament.
