Polls to hit snag if ‘symbols keep changing’

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday threatened to postpone the next general elections in certain constituencies if the process of changing electoral symbols did not stop, saying that it could not keep making alterations, especially when the polls were just around the corner.

In a blunt statement, the ECP did not mince words to say that the elections would be postponed in the constituencies where the political parties or candidates had requested to change their electoral symbols as the commission had already ordered the printing of the ballot papers for the general polls scheduled to be held on Feb 8.

Although some political leaders, including PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari as well as JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, have casually called for delaying the elections and the Senate passed a resolution seeking the postponement of elections – because of security concerns and the harsh winter season, this is the first time the commission has bluntly said the process of changing of electoral symbols must be stopped now or the polls would be put off.

Apparently, the ECP’s statement has come in response to the requests made by political parties and candidates to change their electoral symbols as well as the applications pending before the higher courts.

Senator Taj Haider, the in-charge of the PPP’s central polls cell, recently wrote to the chief election commissioner (CEC), asking that the ECP should change the electoral symbols of at least seven of its candidates as they had not been allotted the ‘arrow’, pointing out that the returning officers declared them as independent ones.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari also raised the issue, saying the matter would be taken to courts.

In a statement, Bukhari said the 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, had entered the race on the party’s tickets but they had been allotted different symbols.

In response, the ECP officials refuted the PPP’s allegation that its candidates had been denied the party symbol and described the statement as prone to exaggeration.

The ECP officials maintained that the PPP was drumbeating over the issue as the candidates either sought the electoral symbol of another political party when they submitted nomination papers or left the column of their affiliation “blank”.

Read also: Election symbols and their importance

Similarly, PTI founding chairman and deposed premier Imran Khan’s plea against the rejection of his nomination papers is still pending with the Lahore High Court.

On Tuesday, the LHC reserved its verdict on Imran’s appeal challenging the decisions of the returning officers as well as the tribunals that have rejected his nomination papers from NA-122 Lahore and NA-89 Mianwali.

While leaving nothing to imagination about the possible delay in polls in different constituencies, the ECP noted that the electoral symbols were being changed from various forums after they were allotted to political parties and independent candidates.

In the statement, the ECP said it should be noted that after the allotment of the electoral symbols, the commission had ordered the printing of ballot papers to three printing corporations and they had already started their work.

“If the process of changing election symbols continues in this way then, on the one hand, there is a fear of delay in the election because the ballot paper will have to be reprinted, for which time is already limited,” the ECP statement read.

It continued that the special ballot papers would have to be reprinted. The statement added that those already printed would be lost.

Pointing out that 800 tons of paper was used for printing the ballot papers in the 2018 elections, the ECP said it was estimated that 2,070 tons would be used for this purpose in the 2024 polls.

Similarly, it explained that 11,700 candidates had participated in the 2018 elections, while this time, 18,059 were in the fray.

“In 2018, 220 million ballot papers were printed while this time 260 million ballot papers are being printed,” it elaborated.

The statement read that in this connection, the ECP was holding meetings on how to deal with the situation.

“The proposal is also being considered that if this process of changing election symbols does not stop, there will be no other option but to postpone the elections in such constituencies,” the statement concluded.

Separately, in a major reshuffle in the ECP, the resignation of its secretary Omar Hamid Khan has been accepted – with Dr Syed Asif Hussain replacing him – in addition to the transfers and postings of its other high-ups, including provincial commissioners.

The ECP issued separate notifications – one for accepting Hamid’s resignation and the other for Asif’s appointment.

According to the first notification, Hamid tendered his resignation because of ill health and it was approved by the CEC as per the rules of the ECP, effective immediately.

Hamid was appointed the ECP secretary on July 9, 2021 and held the post till his resignation on Jan 16, 2024.

The other notification read that the CEC had appointed Asif as the new secretary under Section 6(2) of the Elections Act, 2017 along with eight, nine and 10 of the Election Commission Rules 1989.

Asif is a retired officer of Grade-22 and was serving as the special secretary at the ECP Secretariat in Islamabad before his new assignment.

The notification added that the appointment would be effective immediately on a one-year contractual basis in public interest.

It should be noted that last week there were news stories of the ECP secretary’s resignation but the commission’s spokesperson claimed that Hamid was on leave after contracting Covid-19 and he would resume his duties as soon as his health permitted.

In another notification, the ECP informed that Balochistan Election Commissioner Aijaz Anwer Chohan has been appointed as the new Punjab election commissioner in place of Saeed Gul, who has been transferred to the post of director general (Elections' Cell & Head of Elections' Wing) at the commission’s secretariat in Islamabad.

Similarly, Punjab Election Commissioner Farid Afridi has been appointed the new Balochistan election commissioner.