ECP serves notices on Swati, Fawad

Federal ministers told to present proof of their recent allegations against polls supervisory body

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday served notices on two federal ministers seeking evidence, if any, of their recent allegations against the polls supervisory body.

Railways Minister Azam Swati, during a Senate committee meeting last week, had accused the ECP of taking bribes to rig elections and said such institutions should be “set on fire”.

Later in the day, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had accused the chief election commissioner (CEC) of acting as a “mouthpiece for the opposition parties”.

Their comments came in the wake of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs after one-sided voting by opposition members rejecting key amendments to the Elections Act.

They included allowing e-voting, holding open Senate elections, giving Pakistanis living abroad the right to vote via internet and parliamentarians vacating their seats if they did not take oath within 60 days.

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This came as a major blow to the government’s plan to move ahead with holding the next elections using electronic voting machines (EVMs) and e-voting.

In a press release issued on Tuesday after a meeting of ECP officials presided over by CEC Sikander Sultan Raja, the body said it “objected to and rejected” the allegations against itself and its chief.

It added that evidence would be demanded from Swati for the comments he had made about the ECP in the standing committee meeting.

“The election commission has decided to issue notices to both ministers so further proceedings can be brought into effect regarding this matter,” it read.

The ECP also decided to seek record from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) as well as all the material regarding the standing committee remarks and the press conference to be presented before it.

The PPP and ANP on Wednesday came to the electoral body’s defence against what they termed “outright threats”.

Read more Government’s targeting of ECP and the press draws ire from PILDAT

In a meeting with the CEC, a delegation of the two opposition parties expressed solidarity with the body.

Addressing a news conference after the meeting, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said that the objections raised by the ECP against the government’s plan to introduce EVMs for the next general elections were completely within the constitutional mandate of the body.

He censured the government for hurling unfounded allegations against the ECP. “The public outbursts against the body by the government ministers were unbecoming and inappropriate. We will support the ECP at every forum,” he added.

Echoing the shared concerns of the opposition parties about the controversial bill, PPP’s Sherry Rehman said the government's electoral reforms bill was “unconstitutional”. She added that the government was subjecting institutions to a barrage of “insults” for not falling in line with its orders.