The CEC in focus

Given circumstances, only option for CEC, it seems, to cancel verification results, let voters decide where they vote.

The process of verification of Karachi’s voter list is said to have been a big disappointment. Those who had opposed the relevant Supreme Court (SC) order, it is gathered, have proved to be the biggest stumbling block in the way of conducting the process with any degree of accuracy. The unarmed Election Commission (EC) staff, it was felt, could not counter the interested party’s attempts to frustrate the staff’s fact finding mission. Moreover, since the staff belonged to the same city, its members were justifiably reluctant to appear too intrusive in finding out the truth, lest they annoyed those who call the shots in Karachi. The army on its part, it is believed, remained reluctant to get involved in the process to the extent that the Court order had envisaged. Perhaps, it was not found feasible to send a whole battalion with each EC team. And sending just one soldier was also, perhaps, not considered advisable because in case of trouble, the single soldier instead of being a help would have become a target. ‘No retaliation’ would not have been an option for the army. But those whose responsibility it is to foresee the effects of such actions may have reached the conclusion that retaliation instead of resolving the immediate problem at hand would have given rise to a new set of problems requiring the use of redoubled force.

Under the circumstances, the only option available to the CEC, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, it seems, is to cancel the results of the verification and let the voters decide where they want to use their vote. If this is what is decided, then the names of the voters would appear in two lists, once in the list where their permanent address is located and the other, where their temporary one is listed. And in order to ensure that such votes are not cast on both the locations, the CEC will have to come up with a fail-safe method in cooperation with the staff of the respective polling stations as well as with NADRA. But first, the CEC will have to get the okay from the SC, which normally does not like taking back its orders. One cannot, therefore, rule out the possibility of a serious confrontation ensuing between the CEC and the SC in case the latter insists on carrying out its original order in letter and in spirit.

As it is, the CEC has already expressed his disagreement with the SC’s order for re-delimitation of Karachi constituencies on the grounds that in the first place, it was not possible to complete the task within the given time and that secondly, the Constitution does not permit such a move before conducting fresh census. It is believed that those who performed the task of delimitation before the 2002 elections were interested only in coming up with enough numbers to round up a constituency rather than in carving out winning constituencies for one party or the other, and that it was only later that the party which won the local body elections helped relocate populations to localities in such a manner as to turn them into winning constituencies. So, it is felt by many in Karachi that unless a new census is held, it would only be a futile exercise to undertake the task of new delimitation. This sounds like an MQM-inspired approach. But the CEC, who was the first one to sound the warning, is well known for his integrity and political neutrality. And many among those who endorsed this approach are also not known to harbour any political sympathy for the MQM. So, let us not insist on achieving the unachievable.

While we are on the subject of the CEC, let us also take a closer look at its working. The chief is a universally accepted person known for his uprightness and integrity. We will not talk about the rest of the members as the Supreme Court is hearing a petition challenging their mode of appointment. But the more closely we observe the CEC, the more we get convinced that the bureaucracy is doing everything under its domain and power to see that the Commission fails in its task of holding free, fair and transparent polls, and that too, in time.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2013.