Governments require legitimacy in the first place to manage political crises. The weaker the legitimacy of a government, the less is the power and ability to handle a political mess. Decisions on key national issues need public support, which is only possible when people accept government as their representative. In democratic societies, governments seek legitimacy from people for a certain period of time through voting, and when that term expires, so does the legitimacy. The term may be extended as needed until the announcement of election results, yet the government does not have the legitimacy and decision-making authority that it had during its legitimate period.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) whose members were newly appointed following the termination of the former members over controversy surrounding the previous parliamentary election say that the presidential poll cannot be held on the date previously announced, July 20. According to an election commissioner, the IEC falls at least 16 days behind schedule, and therefore a new date has to be set for what he called the most important national process. All sides involved in the election, he said, are working to prepare the new timeline.
Any further delay in the presidential election is another major challenge for the embattled National Unity Government whose constitutional legitimacy has been in question from its inception, and will further discredit the government, thereby paving the way for the erosion of the entire regime. There is no doubt that fair and transparent election requires time and arrangements to be made, but the transparency of election needs a political will more than the preparations. If the government leadership had the political will to hold transparent poll, the four years and a half was enough time for them to reform the electoral system and restore public’s faith in the democratic process. Deferral in the election cannot guarantee transparency and rather weakens and discredits the government. Bearing the country’s best interests in mind, the new election leadership should better not postpone the election without a necessity, and avoid weakening the government anymore.