The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will aim to set a precedent by holding free and fair polls in the upcoming elections, said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim while speaking to the media in Karachi on Thursday.
“We want to set [this] precedent … so that no one can point a finger at us. We will try to redress all the grievances expressed by different stakeholders in terms of discrepancy found in electoral rolls,” Ebrahim said. He added that the upcoming polls would be a “test case,” and, if fair polls were held, they would bring a drastic change in the lives of the people of Pakistan.
The CEC said that the election commission’s first priority was to finalise transparent electoral rolls, which, he hoped, would be released by July 31. He went on to add that all ECP officials had been directed to follow the rules and avoid developing contacts with any political person or party, as it would dent hopes of a transparent election.
The chief election commissioner said that they would hold a detailed meeting on July 31 in Islamabad before publishing the electoral rolls.
“I am a retired judge not a bureaucrat, therefore, I wondered how I would manage this important position; but after holding a meeting with ECP officials, I have come to the conclusion that I have a talented team with me,” he added.
Earlier, Provincial Election Commissioner Sono Khan Baloch briefed the CEC about the preparation of electoral rolls, by-elections and various Supreme Court cases involving the ECP. Baloch also informed the CEC about how the election commission had rectified the registration of 0.2 million voters of Sindh, who were earlier, erroneously registered in Balochistan and other areas.
“Not only Balochistan, but also some people living in Karachi, over the years had complained that their votes were registered in rural areas.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 27th, 2012.
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Justice (R) Fakhruddin's choice is excellent.People have full trust in him
Few suggestions: asset declaration forms of candidates should be made public and FBR should be asked to verify it. If anyone has information about any asset which has not been declared,they should file evidence India has good and independent election commission which is trusted.Learn lessons from them
A new code of conduct should be introduced for voters to make mandatory for them to cast their votes. If any voter does not cast the vote, he/she should be called by the tribunal set up to find out the reasons and if the voter could not convince the tribunal he/she should be penalized. This way we will have futurist leadership and can get rid of corrupt politicians as well and the real democracy will flourish.
First of All the new CEC Mr Ibrahim is an excellent choice ,this is an breath of fresh air .I would suggest the following . 1-To publish the voters list six month in advance . 2-Voter list should have the voting station market and location. 3-To depute army at the polling stations . 4-Election commission to educate the masses about the importance and the right to vote . 5-If possible try to introduce computerized /bio metric polling like in INDIA .