35m bogus voters removed from electoral rolls

Apex court warns that 26 by-elections held without a fully constituted election commission could be declared illegal.

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that 35 million unverified voters have been removed from the National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) record while around 36 million new voters have been added to the database.

This information was disclosed when a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry resumed the hearing of a petition, filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, who raised questions on the authenticity of voters who participated in the 2008 general elections.

In a story published in The Express Tribune on March 9, the newspaper revealed that almost half, or around 45.7% of the total 81.2 million voters in the 2007 electoral rolls were dubious, if not downright bogus, raising serious doubts on the credibility of the electoral process of the country and authenticity of the 2008 general elections.

In its first phase of preparations for the new electoral rolls, the election commission found that over 37 million voters registered in the electoral register compiled in 2007 were dubious as they were either duplicated, multiple or bogus entries. The verification  process revealed that only 44 million voters could be verified.

EC Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan on Monday told the court that authentication of voters would be completed by August 16. He added that voters’ lists will be completed by December this year.

The secretary said that the government has, in principle, decided to introduce such a system and has in this regard constituted committees. He, however, said that the system has so far been introduced mostly by developed countries, adding that India took 22 years to introduce an electronic voting system.

Imran Khan, in his petition, also asked that the election commission be directed to include photographs of voters in the electoral rolls to which the secretary submitted it has been decided that all available photographs would be added in the voters’ lists but would be given only to the presiding officer because of security reasons.

The court also directed the election commission to resolve the issue pertaining to 28 lawmakers who have been declared winners in by-polls as under the 18th constitutional amendment, by-elections could not be held without the commission’s reconstitution.

The court directed that these elected representatives should be provided an opportunity to present their case.

During the hearing, a member of the bench Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali even raised the question as to why the chief election commissioner conducted by-polls knowing that the 18th amendment does not allow it.

The petitioner’s counsel Hamid Khan, and counsel for one of the respondents, Iftikhar Gillani, also appeared before the court on Monday. The court has adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2011.