After the Supreme Court (SC) made it clear that the Election Commission (EC) must print two separate ballot papers for parliamentary and provincial elections under the first past the post (FPTP) system, there is speculation that these elections, scheduled for 26 November and 7 December will be postponed, and the country will face a constitutional crisis after 21 January 2018 – the constitutional deadline to elect a new parliament and provincial councils.
But the EC cannot use the SC ruling as an excuse to postpone elections. The commission was already planning to print ballot papers for the FPTP polls only after 27 October. So it still has time to re-design those papers, without wasting much time and resources.
Even if re-designing ballot papers takes time, it should not be a problem because the first phase of polls will take place only in 37 of the total 165 constituencies. The balance of ballot papers can be printed later. The EC has also argued that it may need more ballot boxes if it is to print separate ballot papers. But this is another lame excuse. If ballot papers are printed separately, their sizes will be reduced by half. So whether ballot papers are separate or not, it will not require more room in the ballot box. If two different colours are used for two separate ballot papers, it will be easier for enumerators to count the votes.
The EC has already printed two separate ballot papers for the proportional representation (PR) vote, but that is not a cause of concern for the SC. The PR polls will go smoothly. So should the FPTP polls.