PHOTO: APP/FILE
The Supreme Court on Wednesday – while hearing the case of the implementation of its June 2012 judgment passed on the petition of the Pakistan Workers Party to empower election authorities – said that “there should not be a delay from any corner” in holding general elections on time.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heading a three-member bench comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Azmat Saeed, observed that a real representative government in any country could only be formed when elections are held in a free and fair manner.
Muhammad Munir Paracha, counsel for the Election of Pakistan (ECP), furnished details of all the steps being taken to arrange free and fair polls. He informed the bench that a request had been sent to the federal government for legislation in this regard. “One relates to the amendment in Section 104 of the Representation of the People Act, 1996 (ROPA), by insertion of Section 104B. But the government has shown reservations in making the said amendment,” he revealed.
According to proposed 104B, “Monitoring of election campaign, etc (1) The commission shall appoint teams of monitors consisting of such number of members as may be determined by the commission, for a constituency or a group of constituencies which shall monitor election campaign of the candidates and shall report in the format approved by the commission violations of the code of conduct on a daily basis, if any, by the candidates, to the District Returning Officer (DRO). The DRO, on receipt of reports mentioned in sub-rule (1), shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of Section 86B (1) of the Act.”
In response, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Dil Muhammad Alizai, appearing on behalf of the federation, assured the court that “all hurdles would be removed to hold fair elections.”
The DAG told the court that he received the March 12, 2013 order of the court late on Tuesday; therefore, he was unable to seek instructions from the Law and Justice secretary. He sought more time to file the federation’s reply in the matter.
Bilal Hassan Minto, counsel for the petitioner, pointed out that the ECP proposed amendments related to one of the observations of the apex court in the Workers Party case. He said according to it, “The ECP is empowered to check not just illegal actions relating to elections (violating the limits set for campaign finance, etc) or corrupt practices (bribery, etc), but is also empowered to review all election activities, including jalsas, jaloos, use of loudspeakers, etc, for their effects on the standards of ‘fairness, justness and honesty’.
“The ECP is also empowered to take pre-emptive measures to ensure that the spirit of democracy and ‘fairness, justness and honesty’ of elections is fully observed.”
Hamid Khan, counsel for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), supporting Minto’s point of view, contended that under Article 218(3) of the Constitution, the ECP is charged with making arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, freely and in accordance with the law and that corrupt practices are guarded against.
The court observed that the amendment being sought is already part of the judgment and it has a binding force on all concerned parties, including the candidates, voters and the citizens in ensuring that the country is governed by their chosen representatives. “[As far as] guarding against corrupt practices [is concerned], the government should not have any objection as it is the requirement of the Constitution.”
The court then directed ECP’s counsel to obtain further instructions from the commission to provide two bifurcated details: firstly showing the portions from the court’s earlier order which are yet to be implemented and for which no legislation has been called yet; secondly provide a separate portion detailing the amendments the ECP wants under Article 218(3) of the Constitution, so that the matter could be resolved.
Before adjourning the hearing till March 14, the chief justice reiterated the court’s stance and said, “There should be no delay by any corner.”
Meanwhile, to ensure voting rights to overseas Pakistanis in the forthcoming general elections, the bench sought a detailed report from the ECP.
The National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) was also directed to complete the process of issuing English language National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP).
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