Call for averting ECP crisis

Secretary warns LG polls won’t be held if commission members not appointed

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Babar Yaqoob on Friday hoped that the government and opposition would sort out the issue of the appointment of the commission members soon to prevent the body from becoming ineffective next month.

The chief election commissioner (CEC) and the ECP secretary are set to retire next month and the issue of the appointment of two members of the commission, one each from Sindh and Balochistan, has landed in court because the government and opposition were unable to reach a consensus on the nominations.

“The ECP won’t be able to conduct local government elections [in the absence of the CEC and members],” Yaqoob warned while addressing a conference on election reforms organised by the Free and Fair Elections Network (FAFEN).  “The tenure of the elected cantonment boards is also going to expire on December 15,” he added. “In one province, there is a stay order on local government elections for 10 months.”

The ECP secretary said the commission is fully prepared to conduct the local government polls.

Yaqoob noted that the ECP was an autonomous body under the Elections Act. However, he added, the commission’s autonomous status was not being recognised.

The ECP secretary also stressed the need for proportionate representation of the population in the elections.

“The commission is working with NADRA [National Database and Registration Authority] for the registration of female voters,” he added.

Yaqoob noted that all political parties had played a laudable role in the preparation of the Election Act 2017.

“However, the Election Act should not be considered the final word as it too has some operational flaws.”

The secretary informed the audience that the commission had prepared proposals after consulting with locals and the media about elections in 30 districts noted for irregularities.

“In Shangla, elections were rescheduled because less than 10% women voters had cast their votes,” he said.

“But there was great participation by women in the elections in tribal districts which was a major success for political parties and the commission.”

The ECP secretary urged political parties to further support the commission. “Political parties have a responsibility to ensure women's registration. Before the 2018 elections, the ECP had registered 43 million female voters. However, we fear that the number of unregistered female voters may increase,” he said.

Yaqoob said that as per the guidelines, polling stations for disabled people should be set up on the ground floor but a returning officer in Rawalpindi did not even bother to facilitate a disabled candidate to walk downstairs to take his nomination papers.

The polling stations used in every election have now become permanent. Prior to the election, the ECP wrote to the chief ministers of the provinces to ensure electricity and other facilities at the schools which were being used as polling stations.

“The chief secretaries were repeatedly called to remind them of the necessary measures but sadly no improvements were seen,” the secretary maintained.

Yaqoob said the ECP had matured to a point that it considered FAFEN its partner because of its healthy criticism and observations.

A working group has been formed at the ECP on FAFEN’s recommendation.

Speaking on the occasion, Mudassir Rizvi, the head of FAFEN Programmes, said the women and men’s turnout at polling stations in last year’s general elections stood at 46% and 55% respectively.

The lowest turnout of female voters was in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the highest in Punjab.

The highest percentage of votes, 76%, went to three major parties, the PTI, the PML-N and the PPP. Around 70% of the voters in Balochistan faced difficulties because their votes were non-transferable.