Editorial
Election schedule should allay any misapprehension about polls
Now political parties must move full steam ahead towards election
WITH the announcement of the election schedule by the Election Commission, another significant step has been taken toward the restoration of democratic government in the country. This latest move by the EC is one more sign of the gradual removal of the hurdles before the promised general elections of December 18. Indeed, the schedule just announced is a clear picture of where the nation goes from here.
Much of the onus, where a return to parliamentary government is concerned, now lies on the nation's political parties. They now have an opportunity to gear themselves into action through making full-scale preparations for the polls. The nation expects them to come up with clear, forward-looking programmes that will have as their focus the vision they are willing to offer the country at least for the next five years. As we have always insisted at this newspaper, the political forces must convince the country that they have the necessary plans and the strategy to provide purposeful leadership in the future. Between now and the submission of nomination papers, therefore, the parties will need to field candidates who will not only have a reputation for probity but will also be qualified to promote the interests of their constituents as also those of the nation as a whole. This means that the nomination process in the parties must be transparent and in tune with the expressed choice of party workers at the grassroots level. In the overall sense, the political parties should be receptive to popular feeling, which is that people expect a positive, enlightening campaign on their part. The negativism that has characterised electoral campaigns in the past necessarily has to be abjured in the interest of a durable democratic system.
The focus before the announcement of the election schedule was on the role of the caretaker government. A number of questions, even apprehensions, often came up regarding the government's motives. The announcement of the election schedule should now allay all such fears. The focus, in light of the new circumstances, is now evidently on the political parties. With the High Court dismissing the writ petitions relating to a re-demarcation of parliamentary constituencies, the way is now open for the parties to fulfill their end of the bargain. And that is to ensure that the elections are held in a peaceful and transparent manner and that an elected government is in charge before the year is out. Any attempt to create chaos and confusion or foil the election will not only be unacceptable but will also spell grave misfortune for all of us.
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