Crisis imposed on the country should be ended by recognizing real public mandate of elections 2024: Liaqat Baloch

ISLAMABAD, Sep 10 (SABAH): Naib Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Liaqat Baloch met with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and presented a memorandum on the basic demands for constitutional, electoral, democratic and local authority bodies. Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Islamabad Nasrullah Randhawa was also present on the occasion.

In the memorandum presented to the Chief Election Commissioner and in the conversation with the media, Liaqat Baloch has clarified that the results of the 2013 and 2018 general elections were controversial. Similarly, the general elections of 2024 have exposed the country to crises of political, economic, social and constitutional rights, he said. Contrary to what the public decided, the results have created a terrible polarization in the public sphere, he noted.

Liaqat Baloch said for this reason, the governments are unfounded and the constitutional institutions of the army, judiciary and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have also become highly controversial in the eyes of the people. He said in order to get the country out of the political and electoral crises, it is imperative that the Election Commission of Pakistan find the real mandate of the people for the 2024 elections. There may be many obstacles, but the Election Commission is fully empowered to conduct elections and compile election results.

In the memorandum given to the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, it is said that the delegation of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan has come to deal with the problems faced by the common citizens due to non-holding of local bodies elections in Islamabad and Punjab.

Local government has been considered as an important element of democracy in modern times because it is considered to be the best form of self-governance, through which the people can easily participate in direct governance. In democratic societies around the world, the concrete results of democratic governance can be estimated only by looking at the administrative arrangements and services provided by local government. Local government elections play a vital role in creating a strong democratic tendency of voters.