ECP seeks powers to announce polls date

Commission seeks amendments to Elections Act

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has proposed amending sections 57 and 58 of the Elections Act, 2017 to empower it to change the date and schedule of the polls.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja had written letters to National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani whereas ECP Secretary Omar Hamid penned letter to Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Tauqir Shah to get back the powers it held before changes were made in 1985.

A letter was also sent to Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Shakeel Malik. According to the proposed amendment in Section 57, the ECP will announce the date for the elections whereas as per the recommended change in Section 58, the polls supervisory body would be authorised to modify the schedule issued for elections.

It will also empower the election supervisor to change the date of the polls in view of the prevailing situation.

If the amendments to sections 57 and 58 are made and a bill in this regard is passed, the schedule given by the Supreme Court for Punjab polls can also be changed.

The apex court has set May 14 as election date for polls in Punjab.

Read ECP proposes tweaks in polls law to remove ‘ambiguity'

The CEC has requested the NA speaker and Senate chairman to get amendments in Elections Act, 2017 bill passed from the parliament, also recommending that the ECP would announce the date for polls.

The letter stated that the authority to announce the election date under the law lied with the ECP, but later in 1985, during the Zia martial law period, the polls supervisory body was deprived of the power.

It was further stated that in Daska and other “important cases”, the ECP was deprived of its authority.

Daska NA-75 by-poll, held in February 2021 was marred with allegations of ballot tampering, abduction of officers on duty and excessive police and administration influence.

The by-polls gained significant right from the attempt to gerrymander the election results to the vanishing of the ECP staff and from legal fight to re-polling under strict supervision.

The ECP had suspended the flawed verdict on February 19, and ordered re-election in the constituency. Notwithstanding litigations, the apex court too endorsed the ECP stance, and a subsequent ballot in April returned PML-N’s Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar in a cut-throat competition against PTI’s Ali Asjad Malhi.

The letter stated that inquiry against corrupt officers was dropped, which had weakened the writ of the ECP, adding that the bureaucracy was given a go-ahead for corruption.

The election supervisor stated that by proposing amendments in sections 57 and 58 of the Election Act, 2017 it was now seeking back its “original powers” as mentioned in the 1976 law, and ensure fair and transparent polls in the country.