The proposed changes were meant to ensure “fairness, justness and credibility of the elections and to guard against corrupt practices”, says ECP secretary. PHOTO: FILE
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federal law ministry differed on Friday over proposed changes in the nomination form for the next parliamentary elections in a move that could possibly set off another constitutional controversy.
The commission proposed the changes in the nomination form and subsequently communicated them to the law ministry. Barring a couple of cosmetic changes, the ministry rejected all the amendments outright, including those seeking the financial details and criminal history of the aspiring candidates.
The ECP, however, put its foot down, defending the proposed changes as constitutional and telling the ministry to refer the matter to President Asif Ali Zardari, who is the final authority.
The commission has proposed a new column in the nomination form seeking financial details of candidates for the last three years, including their income, sources of income and the taxes they paid. However, the ministry recommended that the ECP itself approach the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for tax data. “The FBR collects this (tax) data and the ECP can acquire it from the board,” the ministry said in a written response to the proposal.
The ministry also opposed an ECP proposal seeking details of dependents of candidates, arguing that it has no relevance with Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution that deal with the qualification of candidates.
The ECP has recommended that candidates give in their nomination forms a six-month criminal record, if any. The ministry, however, shot it down saying that only a convicted person cannot contest elections. Other ECP proposals overruled by the ministry included details of educational qualification, social work and foreign travels.
ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, however, said the proposed changes were meant to ensure “fairness, justness and credibility of the elections and to guard against corrupt practices”.
In a letter addressed to Law Secretary Justice (Retd) Yasmeen Abbasi, Khan said the commission believes all the amendments were in line with the spirit of Article 218(3) of the Constitution as well as the directions of the Supreme Court.
“The commission has, therefore, expressed its inability to reconsider its decision already conveyed to you,” reads the letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune.
Secretary Khan urged the ministry to send the new proposed nomination form to the president immediately for approval as it would require time to get these forms printed and sent to all districts. The commission has given until March 11 for the completion of the whole exercise.
If the president endorses the law ministry’s decision, the ECP will have to use the old nomination forms that would undermine its plans to strictly vet the candidates for any tax evasion, loan default or criminal act, etc.
Tentative schedule
The ECP also conveyed to the government a tentative election schedule which envisages polling on a day between May 6 and 9. The director general of elections, Sher Afgan, told a group of reporters that the commission has proposed the election schedule start before March 21.
Under the law, one day is required to issue notice for elections. After that, six days are given to aspiring candidates to file nomination papers. Nominations will be scrutinised within a week and another week will be required for filing objections against nominations papers and adjudicating these objections.
After this whole exercise, candidates are given a day for withdrawal of their nominations. The final list of candidates is published the next day. Polling is fixed 21 days after the final list of contestants is published.
“Keeping in mind the entire process, polling can be likely on May 8 or 9,” Sher Afgan said. However, he added that it was the president’s prerogative to announce the final date.
ECP secretary meets DG MO:
As part of the election preparations, the ECP secretary also met Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Maj-Gen Ishfaq Nadeem at the GHQ in Rawalpindi. He sought the military’s help in maintaining law and order during the elections. The military brass assured the ECP of full support.
The military sought details of polling stations to be declared ‘sensitive’ and ‘most sensitive’ – and according to the ECP secretary, the commission has already asked the provincial governments to send lists of all such stations within next three to four days.
“Details of sensitive areas/polling stations will be worked out by the ECP and shared in the next meeting scheduled after the announcement of election dates,” said the military’s media wing, ISPR, in a press statement.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 9th, 2013.
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