Elections may not bring democracy

Politicians in Pakistan have reacted cautiously to the presidential announcement of general elections on 10 October for all national and provincial legislatures after three years of military rule in the country. Welcoming the announcement, spokesman for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Farhatullah Babar told IRIN on Thursday in the capital Islamabad that the date was not important but the manner of the elections was important. "We will see if they are free fair and transparent," he said. The announcement of general elections follows the unveiling of a series of radical constitutional amendments to the country’s suspended 1973 constitution. Many politicians in Pakistan suspect that the changes will undermine the parliamentary system. Observers say the country’s powerful military elite is establishing a permanent political role for itself by heading a National Security Council and ensuring parliament and the prime minister are subservient to it. The PPP, and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Group (PML-N) - the country's two main parties - and 13 other smaller political parties are part of a nationwide Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD). The ARD has repeatedly demanded an unconditional return to representative rule in the country since the military assumed power three years back in a dramatic coup against the then PML-N government headed by Sharif. The reaction of Muthida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) a united umbrella union of Pakistan’s six mainstream religious political parties was similar. "We welcome it and demand the reconstitution of the election commission to ensure transparent elections," MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed told IRIN. He added that like other political parties they were participating in the elections in order to be part of the ongoing political process. Meanwhile, Pakistan Oppressed Nationalities Movement (PONM), - a seven-party alliance of smaller regional political parties - also looked forward to the October polls, its spokesman Abdul Rahim Mandokhel told IRIN that they also were concerned about rigging in the elections. "We are compelled to participate but we don’t give them [the government] the right to propose any form of political system," said Mandokhel, speaking by telephone in the southwestern city of Quetta. Mandokhel suggested that to end the ongoing political crisis in the country, a new constitutional assembly should be elected so that it could formulate a new constitution for the country. "This will be acceptable and will address all the grievances and aspirations of the people," he said.