K-P ECP additional secretary says mechanism developed to fully implement code of conduct. PHOTO: SANA/ FILE
The additional secretary of the provincial Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday claimed that not even the ECP chief can help anyone win the elections following a series of concrete reforms.
“The coming elections will set a trend for the future, which will be observed by the international community with a pleasant surprise,” Mohammad Afzal said during a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club.
He said the ECP has developed a system to monitor the election process and fully implement the proposed code of conduct and reforms.
According to him, special teams will be formed under the supervision of senior officers of the federal and provincial governments. They will visit every constituency to monitor and record the election process. “The teams are equipped with ECP-tagged video cameras and will file a report to the ECP wherever the code of conduct is violated.”
The ECP’s code of conduct and strategic plans include 15 goals and 130 objections, which have been fully endorsed and discussed with all political parties. Any violations will result in disqualification under the defined rules, he said.
Commenting on reforms, Afzal said the entire electioneering system, which includes examining ballot papers, security, management, transportation and the final result, has been analysed. “All kinds of weaknesses were thoroughly reviewed during an extended period of analyses, and impediments and obstructions in the election process were removed.”
In response to a question, Afzal claimed the ECP has removed around 35 million unverified and duplicate voters from the electoral list. After the reforms, no one will able to cast fake votes or employ tampering techniques, he added.
In case of misconduct, ECP will hire retired session judges and conduct daily hearings for election-related litigation matters. The ECP also confirmed the appointments of more than 11 judges.
More than seven million election staffers will be stationed across K-P to look over the elections. Grade-19 officers will also be appointed as presiding and returning officers, Afzal said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2013.
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If ECP is supposed to be autonomous and independent institution then it SHOULD not have CSP officers working as its seceraty or directors.. ECP should have hired its own staff through direct recruitmant and should not involve FPSC. Think about this: at present government can remove or transfer any of its senior officers. For example Mohammad Afzal is not under CEC. Surprise!