Firm stance: Poll body chief rebuffs calls for ECP dissolution

CEC says appointments were made in compliance with Constitution.

ISLAMABAD:

Calls for the reconstitution of the election commission may be getting louder, but they seem to be falling on deaf ears when it comes to the chief election commissioner (CEC).

On Thursday, CEC Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim made it clear that the election authority was not having any of it while rejecting demands for the dissolution of the commission.

Ebrahim said the appointments of all members, including his own, were made in “complete compliance” with the Constitution, adding that he had full faith in the integrity, independence and competence of all the members as well as the staff of the ECP.

“We have only one objective – free, fair and transparent elections. I only request that all parties and leaders assist us in achieving this dream instead of making false and baseless allegations,” said Ebrahim, adding that none of the attacks against the members gave any specific details about their “so-called political affiliations”.

With elections around the corner, some political parties have coalesced around the demand to reconstitute the commission. Dr Tahirul Qadri, who heads the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) has joined hands with Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) on the issue, while Qadri also filed a petition with the apex court in this regard.

Observing that attempts were being made to malign the commission, the chief election commissioner also warned that any attempt to postpone upcoming polls would be harmful for the country.



“This appears to be a deliberate attempt to malign the ECP for political gain. I appreciate this is the nature of politics, but personal attacks on our integrity and independence without any basis whatsoever is unacceptable and will only serve to dent public confidence on the electoral process,” the chief election commissioner added.

Ebrahim also emphasised that elections would not be delayed.

“There is no room for postponement… postponement will harm Pakistan,” Ebrahim said, while also requesting political parties to cooperate with the commission in order to ensure credible elections.

“Some political parties have recently expressed reservations against the members and CEC of the ECP and demanded its dissolution. This criticism is most unfortunate as we are only six weeks away from the expiry of the term of the present government and on the verge of a smooth transition from one democratic government to the next for the very first time,” Ebrahim added.



ECP to adopt new mechanism on Karachi electoral rolls

The commission also decided to adopt a new mechanism, in principle, to approve Karachi’s electoral rolls. However, the ongoing door-to-door campaign for voter verification in Karachi would continue simultaneously.

During a meeting with opposition leaders, ECP accepted a demand to only approve voters whose “present addresses” on their national identity cards (CNIC) matched their current addresses.

ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan asked the parties to approach the Supreme Court to get approval for the new mechanism.

The secretary also claimed that 80% of the door-to-door verification process in Karachi has been completed, adding that the delimitation issue would be resolved once the court gave a final order on the subject.

Army at polling stations in Karachi

Khan went on to add the army personnel will be deputed at all polling stations in Karachi on polling day, adding that he would personally supervise the counting of ballots.


Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2013.