CEC urges people to exercise right to vote independently

Justice Ebrahim pledges neutral, honest and impartial elections.

KARACHI:

Urging people to exercise their right to vote independently, the new chief election commissioner (CEC) pledged on Thursday that he will ensure that the upcoming general elections are held with “utmost neutrality, honesty and impartiality”.

Justice (retd) Fakhuruddin G Ebrahim, who was on a visit to the Sindh High Court, called on Chief Justice Musheer Alam and senior judge Maqbool Baqar on Thursday after visiting the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA).

“I have accepted the post (of the CEC) as a challenge despite my advanced age. The internal urge to achieve some feat matters more than the age factor,” he remarked.

Emphasising that all citizens of the country must exercise their right to vote with a firm decision, Justice Ebrahim said that people should select candidates on the basis of their credentials and their suitability to deliver — warning “where there is no ballot, there is a bullet”.

“This is a national duty and if anyone fails in doing so, it reflects [poorly] upon the entire nation.”

Justice Ebrahim insisted that by accepting the post of the CEC, he has pledged to bring a fundamental change in the system. He also urged lawyers to play their role to encourage people to get themselves enrolled in the voter lists given that casting a vote is a citizen’s “basic right”.

The CEC also exchanged Eid greetings with the Sindh High Court chief justice during the meeting. He later praised the legal fraternity for their movement to uphold the independence of the judiciary and said that judiciary was restored as a result of the long marches by lawyers.

“Many more long marches are needed to solve the problems looming ahead,” he said.

During the informal talk at the SHCBA, the new CEC also expressed his gratitude to the legal fraternity and stated that he has gained a lot from this profession. “Now it is time to return what I owe to the community and the legal profession,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2012.