THE national sentiment seems to be strongly opposed to the continuation of the current constitutional arrangement of appointing caretaker governments at the federal and provincial level when the legislatures are dissolved for holding elections. This is perhaps partly due to the fact that the most recent caretaker governments lasted much longer than mandated by the Constitution. A spirited debate has taken place on the subject in the Senate recently, in which various senators demanded that the caretaker government system be dispensed with and elected governments continue during elections with reduced powers. Many other political leaders and civil society organisations have voiced similar demands.

The rationale of caretaker governments can be traced to 1977 when the first general election after the promulgation of the 1973 Constitution took place. The original 1973 Constitution had not envisaged a caretaker government and therefore the government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto continued during the election period. Unfortunately, the 1977 general election turned out to be one of the most rigged, if not the most rigged, general election in Pakistan’s history and the entire blame for the gross irregularities and blatant rigging was laid at the door of the government of the time.

The rigged polls were followed by widespread street agitation leading to violence and the breakdown of law and order in the entire country, which eventually culminated in the declaration of martial law and the takeover of the government by the armed forces. When prime minister Bhutto was holding talks with the agitating........

© Dawn