National Voters’ Day: ‘Let judicial officers perform poll duties’

Commission requests CJP to allow judiciary to participate as returning officers.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has requested the chief justice of Pakistan to allow judicial officers to perform duties as District Returning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) in the upcoming general elections.

A letter in this regard was written by acting Chief Election Commissioner Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani.

“The first thing I have done after taking over as acting chief election commissioner was writing a letter to the chief justice, requesting that the judiciary should be given a one-time exemption from the bar on performing election duties,” Jilani told participants at an event arranged by the ECP to mark the first-ever Voters’ Education Day on Wednesday.

The purpose of observing Voters’ Education Day is to mobilise all adults to obtain computerised national identity cards (CNICs) and ensure they are enlisted in the electoral rolls – setting an ambitious target of taking the voters’ turnout in the upcoming general polls to 88%.

The election commission had decided to write a letter to the chief justice after representatives of various political parties demanded that session and additional session judges be appointed as returning officers in the forthcoming polls. They had expressed concerns that government servants, if appointed as returning officers, would be susceptible to political pressures.

The National Judicial Policy-Making Committee (JPMC) had decided that in the future judicial officers will not be spared for election-related duties in order to bring down the backlog in courts.

Jilani said the election commission was currently planning to train over 600,000 polling staff for the next general elections.

Speaking on the occasion, ECP Acting Secretary Muhammad Afzal Khan announced that the number of polling stations would be enhanced to facilitate the electorates, adding that efforts would be made to make polling stations easily accessible.

Khan further said all those getting CNICs after turning 18 years of age were being enrolled as voters. The number of voters was set to soar to 90 million if the polls are held after March next year, he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry appreciated the ECP’s initiative of launching SMS services for voters. He was also addressing a ceremony held in the Supreme Court to observe first-ever National Voters’ Day.

Justice Jillani briefed the chief justice over the voting system and steps taken by the election commission to provide information to voters.

Justice Chaudhry, who verified his vote by sending an SMS, found out that his vote is registered in Quetta, where he announced to cast his vote.

The ECP declared October 17 as National Voters’ Day to mobilise eligible voters to register and exercise their right to vote in future elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2012.