PPP ‘drumbeating’ over symbol denial: ECP

Electoral body says candidates ‘wanted to have two tickets in their pockets’, tried to 'deceive'

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) refuted on Monday the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian’s (PPPP) allegation that its candidates have been denied party symbol, terming the statement prone to exaggeration.

The ECP officials while requesting not to be named said that PPPP was apparently drumbeating over the issue as some of the candidates it has been referring to either sought the party symbol of another party when they submitted nomination papers or left the column of party affiliation “blank”.

The ECP and PPPP came face-to-face after Senator Taj Haider, the in-charge of the PPPP central election cell, wrote to the chief election commissioner (CEC) while PPPP’s Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari raised the issue in a statement.

Subsequently, it was reported that the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also commented on the issue by saying that candidates were being given different symbols and the party would take the matter to ECP and other relevant forums.

In a statement, Bukhari said that PPP candidates, including Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Dullah from NA-58 Chakwal, Hasan Sardar from NA-59 Chakwal, Chaudhry Atif Rafique from NA-122 Lahore, Chaudhry Naushad from PP-20 Chakwal, Raja Amjad Noon from PP-21 Chakwal, Mujahid Islam from PP-119 Toba Tek Singh and Muhammad Fayyaz from PP-163 Lahore, are the ticket-winning candidates of PPP but have been given different symbols.

“The candidates wanted to have two tickets in their pockets,” an official of ECP said, “they thought they would go with the party that gives them the party ticket.” The official, however, said that “that’s not how things work,” saying “the individuals were trying to deceive and be over smart.”

Explaining further, the ECP official said that the candidates had initially sought PTI’s ticket and bat symbol but the situation changed for three reasons: PTI didn’t give them a ticket, the Supreme Court ruled to take back the cricket bat symbol from PTI and the individuals changed their party.

Subsequently, the officials said, the returning officers allotted them symbols of independent candidates. “The party and candidates can’t blame ECP for their mistakes,” said the other ECP official, asking “why would only a few candidates be denied election symbol.”

They, however, said that the ECP has sought a report from the returning officers concerned and would respond to the letter written by Senator Haider. The officials said the ECP would examine the issue and see if the candidates concerned can be allotted the PPP party symbol or not, saying the matter can be taken to tribunals upon refusal afterwards.

Read: Capital candidates get electoral symbols

Meanwhile, while talking to The Express Tribune, Haider said that ROs or ECP should point out if there is any fault in the nomination papers, saying complaints have already been filed and the next step could be to take the matter to the tribunals.

He conjectured that ROs’ lack of knowledge about laws could also be a reason for denying party symbols to PPP candidates. “We can’t entirely rule out the possibility that PML-N could be behind it,” Haider added, saying assistant and deputy commissioners could have done it “under PML-N’s pressure” as “PPPP is at least sweeping in Chakwal.”

The issue had surfaced after the Haider wrote to CEC that ROs have denied PPPP symbols to PPPP ticket holders. Through the letter, the Senator brought to CEC’s notice the ‘prevailing trend in Punjab’ of denial of the party election symbol – arrow – to its ticket holders and placing them in the category of independent candidates.

“Our serious concerns over such denials may kindly be noted,” Haider stated, saying as per section 66 of the Election Act 2017, a declaration before the Returning Officer about a candidate’s affiliation with a particular political party, if any, along with a certificate from the political party showing that he/she is that party’s candidate from that constituency is the only and the final requirement for ‘seeking allotment of a prescribed symbol’.

“There is no ambiguity in this Section of the Election Act 2017 and it should be followed in letter and spirit,” Haider stated.

In addition, he said that the whole system of Pakistan’s constitutional democracy is built around the basic structure of political parties where citizens have the option of contesting elections as independent candidates but past experiences show that the presence of independents in an elected house does open an unfortunate window for horse trading and exerting pressures on the elected independents.
“Independent candidates are often elected by taking advantage of ‘parochial, racial, tribal, sectarian and provincial prejudices’ fault lines among our citizens,” Haider wrote, saying under Article 33 of our Constitution, it is the duty of the state to discourage such and similar such prejudices.

Instead, citizens should be encouraged to vote on the performance, policies and manifestos of political parties, he said, adding pushing valid candidates who are affiliated to a party and also submit required documents before returning officers at the time of seeking a prescribed symbol, outside the fold of that party and into the category of independents runs contrary to the provisions of Article 33 of our Constitution and the necessary and sufficient requirements of Section 66 of the Election Act 2017.

“We request issuance of your general instructions to all ROs and DROs to allot prescribed symbols under Section 66 of the Election Act 2017, to all candidates who have at the time of seeking a prescribed symbol submitted a certificate from their party regarding their affiliation to that party,” he urged.