LAHORE, Feb 19: Gen Pervez Musharraf has various options to become president for the next five years, the simplest and easiest of them being an amendment to the constitution providing that he will be the first head of state after the ensuing elections, former Supreme Court Bar Association president Abid Hasan Minto said here on Tuesday.

However, Advocate Akram Sheikh, another former president of the SCBA, is of the view that no constitutional method is available to Gen Musharraf to become a legitimate president.

Mr Minto told Dawn the constitutional method of electing a president was through parliament and the provincial assemblies, which formed the electoral college. But, he said, the forum was available only to the candidates meeting the qualifications and incurring no disqualifications laid down in the constitution. Gen Musharraf, he said, did not fall in this category of candidates as being a serving general he could not take part in any election.

To gain eligibility to become a candidate, Mr Minto said, he would have to amend the constitution, but such a course might kick off a new controversy whether a constitutional amendment to pave the way for Gen Musharraf’s candidacy was within the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court judgment to bring any change to the basic law.

Another method available to Gen Musharraf, he said, was that of a referendum, as resorted to by the late Gen Ziaul Haq. An overwhelming majority of people had not taken part in the December 1984 referendum, though the general still became the president, Mr Minto said.

Gen Musharraf, he believed, had a different political and social attitude and was, therefore, unlikely to take such a “blatant” step.

Instead, he said, a straight amendment could be made to the constitution laying down that Gen Musharraf would be the first president after the elections. In such an eventuality, he said, there would be no need for election to the top office.

To ‘democratize’ the decision, he said, Gen Musharraf could obtain an approval from parliament.

Election though local councils, Mr Minto said, was yet another passability. Such a course, though in conflict with the parliamentary system, he said, would amount almost to a direct election.

The former Supreme Court Bar chief said since Gen Musharraf talked of striking a balance in the powers of the president and the prime minister, he could choose this route, since it offered a broader electoral college.

Asked whether Gen Musharraf would be justified in seeking his election as president in the light of the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court in its May 2000 judgment validating the military takeover, Mr Minto said the general could argue that it would not be possible for him to implement his agenda unless he was in the saddle.

In such situations, he said, reaction of the people and the attitude of political parties mattered most. In his opinion there was very little chance of significant resistance since all political parties were seeking adjustments. There was also no possibility of public agitation as people were more interested in the solution of their problems than the modalities used by somebody to have himself elected as president.

He did not think that political parties would be able to oppose Gen Musharraf in their election campaign. Doing so would amount to contradicting the basis of their own participation in the elections under the “amended laws.”

Mr Akram Sheikh said that the Supreme Court had not allowed Gen Musharraf to make any amendment to the constitution which changed its basis structure. Change of the electoral college for the president would be a fundamental change, not permissible under the apex court’s judgment in the Syed Zafar Ali Shah case.

This, he said, meant that Gen Musharraf could not have himself elected through a referendum either.

Asked why Gen Musharraf could not opt for a referendum if it was a legitimate route for Gen Ziaul Haq, Mr Sheikh said not everything resorted to by the late Gen Zia had been fair and proper.

He contended that a person elected president through a referendum could not be a symbol of the federation. Such a mode, he said, would also be questionable in the light of the Supreme Court verdict which had validated the military intervention.

The local councils could also not be used as the electoral college for the president as the apex court had disallowed such a change in the constitution.

Gen Musharraf, he said, could not seek election through parliament as he was not qualified for the candidature.

“All constitutional doors are closed for Gen Musharraf to have himself elected as president. As for the extra-constitutional avenues, they’ll have to be validated by the parliament.”

Some political leaders say that in view of the tough positions taken by political parties against Gen Musharraf’s status as president, it would not be easy to get enlist their support. Those extending support to the general at a later stage will be negating the position they have so far adhered to.

All major parties taking part in the Dec 27 all-party conference, and the parties in the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy are opposed to the extra-constitutional steps taken so far by the military government. They demand that Gen Musharraf should step down as president and wind up the National Security Council. They also insist that the general has no right to amend the constitution, notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s judgment to the contrary.

Some people say that the candidates taking part in the October elections may be asked to file a declaration along with their nomination papers that in case they are elected, they’ll not oppose Gen Musharraf as president.

The idea is, however, still at the embryonic stage.