x THERE isa strange kind of unease that accompa: siastocempoienes “ureday mh his unease stalked the set o Korachandmue specially te snes WA ‘The muchtoped ction wes ting see the bacdrop of heed masons debeen econ toumgstear ani eer arse thea i fmiary had beg to illon ew Koen the on Swercy ethan ly dey rae to ‘ho aly Rarechi evening donee onthe Confusion over Fos fe uncon Sngvotcern the Tote night comerzac of pty ‘Resse and esd: te urn acer Soin, Tieincrarbie sccuatons of tp the prin, {edon tough smarts and spaces and Feat rea meting inthe cay Wes o the crate aus aso pede sot ect, Shdoticertieompctent in yostatch tall lls abo her of supinfbisconsucne, the sure visio PEP Seats prom iima econ Sreane fe eect is rein perma he ‘figeate campaigning by Dr Miah Ismail and his See en Sai bins handiaoged by The cbende oe ras permet amber, nd ofcourse the humiliating electoral thrashing of Fg er eel ra ee Sari insos a larer Po that rated ressonble, oa eatin: why conte ngs Siceeeinn thee cy iputmpetonce and lays bare t greats Sry. ormpetence an 9 penmetence. Net ang Se Ape fnecthat you dot inow sour bisa higher Were Romaine et hays loefncompetens nt now your nam eten sears tot doen, Losing the iyo be ont scorenesre Sa ge tha yo da Le a ne ae the ext level of incompetence. And 3 i a ee tng te Sal, bn revel mre sat of eect were EISEN Uecendine even hey wo mb | BY FAHD HUSAIN ‘he disaster that accompanies normalising the fact that you don’tcare that you dort know your obisthe absolute apex f strategie incompetence. (On this seal, where do we find ourselves today? ‘The evidence is overwhelming, and i pours in from all directions inal shapes and forms Since at Tease 1970 we have not been be to hold an election that everyone would accepe without reservations. Fifty-one years of continuously reinforcing failures should constitute a prablem worth acknowledging. ‘his hore is when dishonesty becomes the added ingredient co incompetence. The establishment rigs lecions? Sure, we al whisper Siting governments Why can't we fix things when we know they are broken? ig elections? Yes, who dare deny? The administra: tite machinery ~ chief secretaries, commissioners DOs, inspectors oneral of police, POs — they all ‘igelctions without remorse snd without astmach fn abrasion on their conscionce? Indoedy sad but {rue Here's the thing though — dishonest ensaces swe donot adie this in publi. “So yo! get Daska. The brazen, callous electoral nd “pechapsevena noun that shall reverberate through ‘heages whenever citizens areregaled with stories of Sealing cletons along with te electoral sta Post Daska, the Elecuon Commission of Pakistan lapped ‘op the credit that was due when it took stern meas ‘es and ordered re-pll, but tho same ECP had no ‘mechanism in place to ensure timely vue count i [NA.249 Why? The inability to comprehend the disas- fer that accompanies normalising se fat tha yoo ‘dont care that you don’ know your jb cam Be tals frightening. ==, From Daska till Karachi For why cee would an electoral system ofa democ- ‘cy of 220 millon people be utterly rudderiess for a Foor hours in one — just ene — conseituenes? Why ‘lee would there be abeolute silence from the ECP at ‘time wen the entire nation is grappling with the mystery ofthe delayed count? Why would some ECP ‘official not come out and make astatement ~asisthe ‘orm in democracies — and allay al suspicions by providing valid explanation? Why must the nation fave wo endure anesher chaos another controversy, ind another crisis? The answer may lie somewhere in wweled place where incompetence transitions froma specific failing to an acceptable way of ie, “The ECP cleatly doos ot want tomeasite tsk up toa higher standard. In Daska the Punjab govern ‘ent tried to steal an election Ie would have dare =o had it ot been so uteri incompetent even at elec tora rigging. Dut who ie responsible forthe Karachi toss? If isnot the ECP, it may want tel us who {oblame. But why jostblame the ECP when incompe: {ence snow an accepted vice? Or is ta virtue now? ‘Why blame the ECP when we know chat all hi ale of electoral relorms by the governarent i, well all talk, is ene upmanship. If the government was ‘ally, genuinely and honestly interested in ceaning {up the electoral system, it would first explain really penuinaly anal honestly why t wed to pall ‘asks on Daska, ‘But thea vy blame the government alone for dis honesty and incompetence? Has any other party ‘really demanded tha hove who tried to steal Baska tbe Brought to book? Has any other persoa in this democracy of 20 million citizens insistedona peabe to determine who planned Daska? Who authorised Dasha? Who executed Daska? And who should take ‘efall for Daska? ‘Tncompetence is accepting iecompetence and not ‘questioning incompetence. We are all guilty oi Each one of us. This explains why there fenot taoch unease over the presence of unease that stalled the ‘teets of Karachi tho balmy Thursday evening ‘Suhchataha The witer is Dawn's rosider eatorn lamang, ‘Titer @tahehusain