Postal ballot probe

Fraud in Feb 19 by-elections was made possible by tampering details of around 600 applications for postal ballot

The outcome of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s probe into postal ballot irregularities in NA-45 is quite disturbing. It has brought to the fore the inherent lacunas in our system through which men at the helm of affairs flaunt laws and regulations, as well as the extent to which persons vying for elected houses can stoop low. A comprehensive, and what seems to be a well-investigated, report has found PTI MNA Fakhar Zaman, from Kurram tribal district, working in connivance with two officials to get himself elected. He allegedly plotted a scam to make use of fake postal ballots in his favour, and worked hand-in-glove with a DSP and a Special Branch official.

The dare-devil fraud in the by-election of February 19 this year was made possible by tampering the details of around 600 applications for postal ballot. The ECP started suspecting foul play well before the polling day, as it found a single official countersigning all the ballots, and that too being posted from a similar address. It triggered departmental inquiries against concerned officials, and the forgery plot was unearthed. This electoral incident should not be treated as one in isolation because it indicates a plethora of loopholes that have set in, and how those are manoeuvred with a criminal intent.

Irrespective of a final decision on the part of the ECP, it is incumbent upon the legislator to resign, and submit himself for a probe. Likewise, the scandalous officers should also be shown the door the moment their involvement is proved. Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has treaded a high moral ground in such cases of horse-trading and trickery, should expel the MNA from the party, and make them stand a trial. At a time when he is meticulously trying to introduce EVMs and the right to vote for overseas Pakistanis, he should closely look into procedural crests and troughs that give way to such acts of turpitude.

The moral of the story is that electoral reforms are indispensable, and the present culture of grabbing votes by bending laws, and making use of official machinery has to go. MNA Fakhar Zaman, apart from retribution, owes an unconditional apology.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2021.

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