Huddle enters day-four: ECP may outsource printing of ballot papers to private sector

No headway on printing of millions of ballot papers, procurement of magnetised ink.

ISLAMABAD:

Election authorities are considering major compromises on fundamental modalities that would put a big question mark on credibility of the electoral exercise in order to meet Supreme Court deadline for holding local government elections. The huddle at the central secretariat of the Election Commission of Pakistan on third consecutive day, on Wednesday ended in a stalemate.

No ECP official was ready to speak to the media on the outcome of the meeting.

Sources said there was no headway on issue of printing of ballot papers and procurement of stamp pads with magnetised ink within the given timeframe.

Sindh government has decided to initiate local bodies’ election process by November 27 and Punjab by December 4, following the directives of the Supreme Court.



The commission is now considering using common ink and procuring normal paper for ballot papers instead of specific ink and non-market paper with special security features to avoid fake voting.

Moreover, it is also pondering engaging private sector printing presses for printing the ballot papers.

The representatives of Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) apprised the ECP on Wednesday that their institution can prepare 600,000 stamp pads with magnetised ink in a month and that too if they work in two shifts.

ECP estimates that for LG polls one million such stamp pads will be needed for Punjab, 0.8 million for Sindh and 76,000 for Balochistan.

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) can verify thumb impressions in magnetised ink but not with normal ink.

Printing deadlines

The state-owned Pakistan Security Printing Corporation and Printing Corporation of Pakistan had already apologised to meet the demands of ECP in such short time.

According to new estimates, ECP would need to provide 300 million ballot papers for Punjab, 110 million for Sindh and four million for Balochistan that too in different colour papers to distinguish different categories of candidates.

Moreover, it would need to print 5.6 million nomination forms for Punjab, 0.9 million for Sindh and 0.1 million for Balochistan.

PTI opposes ECP ideas

Vice Chairperson PTI Shah Mehmood Quershi has strongly opposed outsourcing printing of ballot papers.

“Government was considering getting ballots printed from private firms which the PTI would not accept at any cost as it would be a big security breach,” Quershi said talking to the media in his office.

He urged ECP to pull up their socks, wake up and fulfil their constitutional obligations to conduct free and fair local bodies elections.

“We accepted with heavy heart what ECP decided in the general elections but not again,” Qureshi told reporters. Delimitation process was not acceptable as it was designed by the civil administration in Punjab and Sindh on the demands of assembly members of the ruling parties, he said. “Delimitation was the beginning of rigging.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2013.