HERE were no surprises here. Earlier this week, four lawmakers associated with the PTI, including the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, were disqualified and their seats vacated by the Election Commission of Pakistan based on recent convictions in the May 9 cases. On Thursday, a Faisalabad anti-terrorism court gave the ECP more ammunition by convicting and handing down lengthy sentences to several other lawmakers, including the opposition leaders of both the National Assembly and Senate. The Constitution, under Article 63(1)(h), requires a lawmaker`s disqualification in case of a criminal conviction where the sentence exceeds two years of imprisonment. This was the technicality cited by the ECP when it formally disqualified and de-seated the previous lot of lawmakers. Morally, however, this is a different issue altogether.

There is little doubt in the minds of many that the convictions being handed down by the ATCs to political leaders have been excessive and unjustified. Serious questions have been raised about the quality of the evidence presented against the accused, and there have been concerns throughout about the denial of due process to those alleged to have committed serious crimes.

The counsels for the defendants in these cases firmly believe that the convictions will not stand if they are subjected to a fair hearing in higher courts. In these circumstances, it would have been far better for the ECP to have proceeded with some restraint. It should have allowed the affected lawmakers some time to appeal their convictions. It is strange that technicalities quickly come to bear when a particular outcome is possible, but rules and regulations are otherwise treated as worth less than the paper they are printed on. This has been the story of our democracy for the past many years, even decades. Inevitably, other considerations come to prevail, and such convictions are rendered meaningless. This has been a running feature in every political cycle. Still, it must be repeated that the ECP`s main responsibility is to uphold the people`s mandate.

Given its many failings with respect to this responsibility as exemplified by the botched conduct of the last general election and the subsequent mishandling of the many controversies that followed it should seek to limit the damage it causes. The people`s mandate is not something to be trifled with; alas, this is something the ECP consistently fails to appreciate.