With the National Assembly nearing the completion of its five-year constitutional term, the public’s attention is turning toward the “caretaker government” that will assume power to oversee the general elections.
A rare concept in representative democracies, the imposition of a caretaker setup is aimed at minimizing administrative influence over the electoral process and enhancing the legitimacy of electoral results. In Pakistan, however, it has often raised more objections to poll results than acceptance, with its legitimacy tied to the Elections Act, rather than the Constitution. In fact, the practice appears to run counter to the preamble of the 1973 Constitution, which reads that the “state shall exercise its powers and authority through chosen representatives.”
The first caretaker government of Pakistan was appointed by a military dictator—Gen. Ziaul Haq—after he prematurely dissolved the National Assembly and dismissed the elected governments. Even after his death, and the ostensible revival of democracy, the practice continued, with the country seeing seven caretaker prime ministers since 1990. Of these, only three—Moeenuddin Qureshi in 1993, Mir Hazar Khan Khoso in 2013 and Nasirul Mulk in 2018—could be considered truly “neutral.” Lending legitimacy to caretakers was the Charter of Democracy signed between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, which backed the practice for transparent elections, though fell short of the powers provided to them under the 18th and 20th amendments.
The incumbent government has gone even further, passing the Elections Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to allow caretakers to take “important” decisions regarding existing bilateral or multilateral agreements and projects. This all occurs as concerns persist over whether elections will even occur on time—several lawmakers have alleged they could be delayed indefinitely—with a legal challenge underway over the legitimacy of caretaker setups beyond 90 days. Pakistan can ill-afford more “experiments” over its governance. Caretakers, regardless of their powers, cannot be considered an alternate to elected lawmakers and the only way to ensure the country follows its Constitution is to conduct free, fair and transparent elections per schedule.