Election controversy: ECP says poll scheme was framed by ROs

Poll body submits reply to SC in Workers Party and PTI plea

ISLAMABAD:

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has told the apex court that whole election scheme in the May 2013 general elections was framed by returning officers (ROs).

The ECP said this in a reply, made in connection with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Workers Party Pakistan’s (WPP) plea regarding the non-implementation of the SC’s June 8, 2012 judgment, wherein the apex court had asked the election authority to introduce election reforms during the May 2013 general elections.

In the reply – submitted in the Supreme Court through the ECP’s Additional Secretary Shair Afgan – the ECP said it had appointed district retuning officers,  returning officers and assisting returning officers from amongst the judicial officers of lower judiciary  for the conduct of May 11, 2013 elections.

“In pursuance of the ECP’s instructions, each RO prepared a draft list of polling stations for each constituency under his jurisdiction as well as obtained the list of employees of the federal, provincial and local governments,” it said.

The ECP said it had instructed the ROs that majority of presiding officers, assisting presiding offers and polling officers should be appointed from federal government, autonomous organisations and agencies.

It said it had also supplied the list of available federal government’s employees to the ROs for appointing them as polling personnel ‘because under the law, their appointments are made by returning officers’.

“There is acute shortage of employees of the federal government in most areas. However, where such employees were available their appointments were made as polling personnel,” the reply further said.

Last year, the PTI had submitted an application pointing out violation of the court’s June 8 verdict by the ECP. It had also given details about alleged rigging in last year’s general elections and sought ‘verification of thumb impressions’ in NA-110, NA-122, NA-125 and NA 154 – four National Assembly constituencies.

It is worth mentioning that when the three-judge bench of the apex court – headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar – took up the case on Wednesday, the PTI’s lead counsel Hamid Khan was not present in the courtroom, in spite of the fact that he was available in Supreme Court’s premises at the time.

A senior PTI leader told The Express Tribune that now the issue was no more about the thumb verification of four constituencies.  “Frankly speaking, now our demand is the audit of whole election,” he said, adding, if it happened the biggest fraud in Pakistan’s history might be unveiled.

Meanwhile, the bench directed the PTI and the WPP’s counsels to file rejoinder over the ECP’s replies.

During the hearing, ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan and Muneer Ahmad Paracha also appeared before the bench and stated that the commission had already submitted its reply. The hearing of the case is adjourned until October 13.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2014.