The National Assembly has passed the 20th Amendment unanimously. While the affected legislators experience relief at not being unseated, the major political parties would prefer to dwell on the provisions relating to the Election Commission and the setting up of interim governments that were also included. The Amendment was made necessary to avoid the unseating of legislators elected in by-elections carried out by an incomplete Election Commission. The opposition took this opportunity to have some amendments made to the Constitution which also reduced the role of the President in the appointment of caretaker governments. This also made sure that the Election Commission had a role in resolving any dispute that arose over such appointments, at both the federal and provincial levels. This role was made necessary by the ignoring of consultation with the Leader of the Opposition that the government has practiced so far in respect to other appointments where there is supposed to be consultation. This has given the opposition some assurance that its input into these crucial appointments will not be ignored. It was already settled at the time of the passage of the 18th Amendment that there were supposed to be caretaker governments, even though the original 1973 Constitution did not include them. So it was perhaps inevitable that these provisions would be subject to amendment. The issue was given more importance by the fact that the opposition has been demanding elections which might take place later this year.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that this provision is part of the Constitution. It will govern any future election, and as such demands from all the parties which have passed it complete obedience. The unanimity of the passage also means that the Senate should also see smooth passage, and since the Amendment was the result of an agreement by the parties, there should be no problem with its receiving presidential assent. Since the nation has been traumatised by a number of issues, such as the NRO implementation and the Memogate Affair, it was something of a relief to have this matter resolved. It was perhaps not going to be something to break the government that there would have been so many legislators unseated, but it would not have been conducive to smooth governance.
The government may be able to turn its attention to the problems of the people of the country, now that there has been a settlement of the issues of the Constitution. These issues are of great importance, but they affect primarily the politicians, not the ordinary citizen, who finds inflation and energy shortages among his major problems, with constitutional issues important as a means to solving them. If they are not solved, these grand issues of state will not be seen as relevant.
The 20th Amendment | The Nation