A team led by Law Minister Farooq H Naek met the chief election commissioner and members of the ECP and objected that the election commission did not have any legal powers to issue any such directions before the election schedule is announced. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVED/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The government on Thursday questioned the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to freeze all recruitments and ban the use of discretionary funds by government functionaries before the announcement of the general elections schedule.
A team led by Law Minister Farooq H Naek met the chief election commissioner and members of the ECP and objected that the election commission did not have any legal powers to issue any such directions before the election schedule is announced.
Earlier this week, the poll supervisory body had issued a notification imposing a blanket ban on last-minute recruitments in all public sector organisations except through the federal and provincial public service commissions.
The notification also forbade the government from diverting any more funds to the prime minister’s discretionary fund for distribution to the ruling parties for electioneering. The commission had termed these tactics “pre-poll rigging”.
The team sent by the government was of the opinion that the decision of the commission was not covered under Article 218 (3) of the Constitution.
Naek also challenged the rationale behind banning the diversion of allocated development funds, saying that sometimes adjustments are required and stressed that the frozen funds may lapse if the ban was not lifted.
In response, the commission officials asked the federation team to submit their concerns in writing.
ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, while referring to an agreement reached between the government and the Minhajul Quran International chief, informed the team that the commission had prepared a draft proposing amendments in around two dozen electoral laws. He said a proposal for amendment in the Representation of People’s Act to increase the time for scrutiny of nomination papers from seven days to one month was also part of the draft.
However, Naek opposed the idea insisting that it would not be feasible to stretch the election schedule to nine weeks as it would make it impossible to hold elections within two months, if the assembly completes its tenure.
ECP denies reports
In a statement, the poll supervisory body denied that it had stipulated that the winner of the elections must bag half of the total votes cast. “The ECP clarifies that no such proposal was approved/included in the proposed Electoral Reforms Bill,” the statement read.
Furthermore, it said some TV channels have reported that the ECP proposed to the government to dissolve all assemblies before February 15, 2013 which was also baseless and incorrect.
Scale allotted to JI
The ECP has decided to allocate the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) the election symbol of a “scale”— rejecting the plea of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
JI and PTI both had applied for the scale as their election symbol for the next general elections. However, ECP took the decision under ‘preferential rights’ in favour of JI which had been using the scale as its election symbol since 1970.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.
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