Thursday, January 16, 2014
Delayed polls
The likelihood of local government elections being held anytime soon – or even this year – were considerably reduced by the Supreme Court after it allowed Punjab, Sindh, the Islamabad Capital Territory and the cantonments to indefinitely delay polls till local bodies legislation is amended and delimitation completed. The Supreme Court, which has been the prime agent of quick polls, essentially found its hands tied by the Sindh and Punjab high courts. Both had halted the process of delimitation after complaints by opposition parties that it was being motivated by base political motivations. Now the National Assembly is proposing delaying the elections until a fresh census can be completed. There are some merits to an argument in favour of a delay. The last census was held in 1998 and the demographic changes in the country since then would significantly change the electoral map. We should be holding a census every 10 years but political parties with a primarily rural base or a small presence in Karachi would be hurt by a census and so there has been no effort directed towards fulfilling this duty. It is also true that the Election Commission of Pakistan needs time to prepare nomination papers and ballots, work that has been delayed by the different judgments handed down by various courts.
Still, we should recognise that the ruling political parties in Punjab and Sindh have made a concerted effort to delay the local bodies polls for as long as possible, if not avoiding holding them altogether. First, the PML-N proposed party-less polls in Punjab and then delayed passing legislation for as long as possible. In Sindh, the PPP has tried to carve out constituencies that would minimise winnable seats for the MQM. The PML-N would probably enjoy a victory similar to its sweep of Punjab in the general elections but its individual members in the provincial assembly probably want to avoid new figures with a local following from posing a threat to their influence. As for the census, while carrying out a new one would be ideal, the same principle also applied to the National Assembly. The allocation of seats would have been very different with an accurate reflection of the population. Yet it would have been unthinkable – not to mention unconstitutional – to delay those elections until a new census was conducted. That should be equally true for local elections, which are also mandated by the constitution. A further delay has now been permitted but the provincial governments and ECP should not use this as an excuse to run out the clock.
Road rules
The deaths of 21 people, including 18 children, in a road accident in Nawabshah will likely be mourned for a short period as an unavoidable tragedy before everyone moves on. We should try not to be so callous. The schoolchildren were travelling in a van that collided with a truck. This accident, and countless others like it, raise questions about how we manage traffic in the country. In recognition of the ever-present danger large trucks pose, many countries have laws that limit the times trucks can ply the roads, usually restricting them to nights. Trucks are often barred from certain roads where there is a greater probability of accidents. Pakistan has not enforced such laws but after this accident needs to do so immediately. There are also no effective laws governing the state trucks must be in if they are allowed on the roads. The Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965 does not lay out any regulations for testing vehicle fitness and so motor vehicle inspectors have a lot of leeway in passing vehicles as fit to be driven. This law should be amended and only those trucks permitted to be used which have certification based on international standards proving they are not a safety hazard.
More generally, the country is in dire need of better education for drivers. Traffic lights are treated as mere suggestions and speed limits may as well be advising drivers on the minimum speed they must maintain. Traffic cops seem more interested in collecting bribes than handing out tickets as a deterrent to dangerous drivers. Drivers’ licences can be obtained at a price but no qualifications are necessary, as our bus and truck drivers prove on a daily basis. The anarchy on our roads is reflective of a complete absence of a regulatory state. People do as they please because they know there are no consequences to pay for their recklessness. The 18 dead schoolchildren are only the tip of the iceberg. Thousands die on the roads every year because the state is not strong enough to enforce traffic laws. From factory safety to food inspections, we are being put at risk because no one has the incentive or fear to comply with regulations. How many children will have to die before we realise that our lawlessness has dire consequences?