The Hindu : Pak. Senate elections postponed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 08, 2003

International

International

Pak. Senate elections postponed

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD JAN. 7. Elections for the Pakistan Senate (equivalent of the Rajya Sabha), scheduled for the first and second week of February, have been postponed by three weeks.

The postponement has been ostensibly made at the request of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), alliance of six religious parties. In a petition to the Government, the MMA had said that several of its members would be in Saudi Arabia to perform Haj around the time of the elections.

There is also a petition pending in the Supreme Court challenging the law promulgated by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, barring defeated candidates in the general election from contesting for the Senate.

The postponement would further mean that the constitution of Parliament would not be complete before March. Originally scheduled for the last week of October, the elections got postponed due to delay in the formation of the national and provincial governments after the general elections.

The members of the four provincial assemblies, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the national capital authority of Islamabad elect the Senate members. Gen. Musharraf had increased the strength of the Senate from 87 to 100 as part of the controversial amendments to the Constitution.

The Senate is a permanent body. However, after the military coup of October 1999, Gen. Musharraf kept the Senate along with the national and provincial assemblies in suspended animation and, in June 2001, dissolved them.

With elections to the Senate, the constitution of Parliament would be complete. However it does not mark "full transfer" of power from a civilian to a military set-up as Gen. Musharraf continues to keep several Articles of the 1973 Constitution in abeyance.

Just before Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali was elected Prime Minister in the National Assembly on November 23, Gen. Musharraf revived the Constitution while keeping some of the provisions in abeyance. His promise to restore the full Constitution by December 31 has not materialised.

Much is at stake for the Jamali Government as well as the Opposition. Barring the power to legislate on financial matters, the Upper House is competent to deal with all other matters. More important, the Chairman of the Senate officiates as President in the absence of the President.

Immediately after the general elections, the MMA had hoped to gain a majority in the Senate on the basis of its strength in the Assemblies of the North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan. However, with the success of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam) alias "King's party" in forming a Government in Baluchistan with the help of the MMA and others, the situation is now different.

The Opposition is growing restive over the delay in restoration of the Constitution. There are two aspects related to the subject. First, there are provisions which continue to be in abeyance. Second, there are several amendments made by Gen. Musharraf to the Constitution through what is known as Legal Framework Order (LFO).

Among the provisions in the Constitution that stand suspended include the anti-defection clauses. Most of the parties have opposed the controversial amendments made by Gen. Musharraf. These include his dual role as Army Chief and President and creation of a National Security Council formalising the role of armed forces in governance.

The LFO figured prominently in the National Assembly when the trust motion of Mr. Jamali came up for discussion and voting. The MMA vice-president, Qazi Husain Ahmad, warned that he would quit as the National Assembly member if the LFO was "unilaterally" made part of the 1973 Constitution.

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