Elec-tion-ary: Army-assisted 1993 elections

Most political parties entertained apprehensions that civil administration was too biased in favour of Nawaz.

ISLAMABAD: During the 1988 and 1990 elections, district returning officers and assistant returning officers were both appointed from among judicial officers and the polling staff was selected from other government departments.

However, for the 1993 elections the army was assigned the duty to assist judicial officers instead of the executive officers. Most political parties entertained apprehensions that the civil administration was too biased in favour of Nawaz Sharif’s Muslim League, which could influence the poll outcome. The election commission formally requested the ministry of defence to allow the armed forces, in accordance with Article 220 of the Constitution, to assist in the electoral process and the forces agreed. An election monitoring cell was set up at the GHQ, Rawalpindi under the charge of Army Air Defence Command Commander Lt Gen Nazar Hussain. At distance headquarters, election cells were set up in conjunction with the one working under the district returning officer.

These cells, supervised by an army officer of the rank of Lt colonel or brigadier, worked in collaboration with the DRO. Similarly cells were also set up at Corps Headquarters and lower levels.

Two or three army personnel were appointed at each polling station though they were assigned no polling related function. On September 21, the government vested army officers, appointed at polling stations, with magisterial power. This enabled them to conduct summary trials of offences under various clauses of the Representation of the People Act.

(Courtesy: Church World Service and Free and Fair Election Network)

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