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Islamabad: The split public mandate in the Monday’s general elections has given way to a hectic political marathon as parties securing sizable seats in the national assembly are setting terms for a possible alliance for new government.
The elections have resulted in an expected hung national assembly but the party position has surprised the political pundits.
The bolt from the blue is the strong return of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) that has a strong standing against President Pervez Musharraf.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has won the highest number of seats (87), followed by PML-N (66), Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) (38), and Mutahida Qoumi Movement (MQM). Any of these parties cannot form a government without making an alliance. The PML-Q has already announced to sit on opposition benches.
The leadership of the different parities is busy in working out common ground as well as weighing their options. Political annalists in Islamabad are expecting some give and take on the parties’ polices matters regarding some main issues such as the position of President Pervez Musharraf, judiciary, and law and order.
Mohammad Asghar, a political commentator in Islamabad, said the PPP, PML-N, and MQM have to rise above their difference to work under an alliance in the interest of the country facing huge challenges. “They have a long history of rivalries, no doubt, but they are readily willingness to work together under the new political scenario,” he said.
The party position in the four provinces also has an impact on the formation of a new federal government. Awami National Party, a nationalist Pashtoon party, has majority in the NWFP, along with the PML-N, an anti-Musharraf party, in Punjab province, the PPP in Sindh province, and the PML-Q in Balochistan.
“It’s a tricky situation for the new government in the centre to maintain good working relations in future with the provincial governments,” said Amir Haider, a noted political annalist in Islamabad.
All the parties have different ideologies and polices on a whole variety of issues the nation has been currently been facing. President Musharraf itself is a big issue for the parties. The PPP is a more liberal party and already has some sort of understanding with President Musharraf and his policies, he said.
“It’s [PPP] most likely ally PML-N is not ready to accept Musharraf as president and asking for his removal,” he said. The fact is that, he said, PPP and PML-N cannot get a two-third majority in parliament to impeach Musharraf. Also PML-N wants to restore the former chief justice and judiciary to the pre November 3, 1997 position.
The PPP has a different point of view on this issue, and Ahtezaz Ahsan, a prominent layer and senior leader of PPP, said his party wants an independent judiciary and a mechanism would be found for mutual acceptable terms on this issue.
Abdul Jabbar, a journalist, believes that PPP is in a difficult position and has huge responsibility on its shoulder. He is also of the view that the elections were engineered for a split mandate but the planners have failed in restricting PML-N in getting limited seats.
“The design, I believe, was to install a coalition government of PPP and PML-Q,” said Abdul Jabbar, adding that the public has foiled it. The people of Pakistan are tired of sprawling law and order situation, terrorism, religious fanaticism, raising poverty and unemployment, lack of health facilities, and raising inflation.
“The voters’ turnout 42.67 percent [2.67 percent higher than 2002’s elections shows that bomb threats have failed in stopping them the vote for a change,” he said. It is a silent revolution and a revolt against former rulers polices, he said. “New government must respect it or be prepared to face the public anger,” he added.
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