No doubt, when we look around we can see that those societies have progressed in life who accord due importance to their people.
In political science, a state necessarily comprises four basic elements: people, territory, sovereignty and government. The latter operates under a legal and constitutional framework based on the will and aspirations of the people to assert the legal and territorial sovereignty of the state for the welfare of the people. Hence, the social, moral, political, religious, legal and administrative tendencies of every society are reflected in its constitution.
The ongoing political uncertainty has sparked a constitutional crisis in the country, prompting President Dr Arif Alvi, who is the constitutional head of the state, to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold general elections to the dissolved provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on April 9. The President has exercised the power vested in him under Article 57-2 of the Constitution to give the date of elections.
Despite knowing the cause of the serious crises facing the country, the authorities and the political parties seem to be fudging with legal lacunae which need constitutional interpretation. Delivering a verdict on a petition of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the Lahore High Court on February 10 issued an order that the election commission should announce the date of the provincial assembly elections after consulting the provincial governor. In case of dissolution of an assembly, the election commission is bound to hold elections within 90 days.
The Election Commission is also relying on the Constitution that it is empowered to conduct elections only and that the commission has no constitutional authority to fix the date of the elections. As such, the constitutional head of the state has intervened and called the Election Commission for consultation to establish a democratic tradition and give an action plan for the future in order to resolve the constitutional issue and steer the country out of the dire straits.
The Election Commission is certainly a constitutional body, but it is not above the President. Even the President of the State cannot take steps beyond the Constitution. These principles are clear for other institutions as well.
The nations that shy away from taking guidance from their Constitution are left behind in the race of development and are considered uncivilized in the comity of nations.
If this situation persists, the country will continue to slide into abysmal depths of uncertainty. Hiding behind constitutional lacunae or looking for gap-filling arrangements will only aggravate the multiple crises.
