Magnetic ink: Controversy deepens as ECP fails to find record on selection of ink
ECP accuses former additional secretary of giving verbal instructions to PCSIR regarding preparation of magnetic ink
ISLAMABAD:
Controversy over use of magnetic ink has further deepened as National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and Pakistan Council for Scientific Research (PCSIR) are at loggerheads over the quality of ink used for thumb impression of voters during last general elections.
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also now jumped in to this contentious issue. During Friday’s meeting at the ECP headquarters, the commission failed to trace any documentary evidence on selection of ink.
Before 2013 general elections, ECP had given PCSIR task to prepare the specialized ink with iron particles to get thumb impressions of every voter on the counterfoil of ballot paper at the time of polling. The purpose of using magnetized ink was to get every vote verified through biometric database of NADRA, in case a vote audit is required after the polls.
Before the 2013 general elections ECP had claimed that it has adopted fool proof measures to stop rigging and it would be able to audit every single vote in case of any controversy.
ECP spent Rs100 million to procure so called magnetic ink. It was claimed that the specialized ink have the properties which will make thumb impression of every voter easily readable.
Since the counterfoil of the ballot paper carries CNIC and thump impression of every voter, NADRA should be able to verify that it was of the same persons.
In case of a bogus vote it should also trace out the impersonating person and multiple votes cast.
Post election tribunals sent cases from over three dozen constituencies to NADRA to verify thumb impressions of voters. For most of the constituencies, NADRA reported that 75 percent thumbs were not unreadable.
NADRA accuses that substandard ink was used for thumb impressions. Its representatives have filed a affidavit with one of the tribunals in Lahore that ink used during the polls was not the one prescribed by NADRA.
During Friday’s meeting called to prepare a factsheet on rigging allegations, representatives of PCSIR claimed that the ink provided by them was exactly the same one approved by NADRA and ordered by ECP.
However, NADRA officials refuted PCSIR’s claim which lead to a hot debate. After that when ECP probed its record, it failed to find any thing in written record regarding specifications of ink it had ordered.
“No record was available with ECP. No one knows who ordered and approved magnetic ink. There is also no record regarding details about specification and ingredients of ink” sources privy to the meeting quoted ECP officials as telling to the commission. It is learnt that some officials have put the blame on the then Additional Secretary ECP Afzal Khan, who had recently accused commission of being involved rigging.
The officials claimed that Khan, who had retired after the polls, had given verbal instructions to PCSIR officials regarding the preparation of magnetic ink. It is not clear how will ECP proceed against the new revelations.
Afzal Khan when contacted, out rightly rejected the allegations. He said for every such project a detailed documentation is carried out.
“It is not possible. Those who know the working of the government offices are aware that it is not possible at all. Even PEPRA rules do not allow that. It was purchase of a pencil box. It was 90 million project”, he remarked.
He said under the procedure, a file is moved by a section officer and it goes through several stages before final approval is given by higher authorities.
“I was an administrative authority working under the chief accounting officer and the secretary. But we can not do anything without adopting the proper procedure” he remarked. Khan alleged that some elements in ECP are trying to malign him by leveling unsubstantiated allegations.
He further claimed that there was no truth in the claim that thumb impressions were not readable and NADRA was not being allowed to work.
In an attempt to absolve itself, ECP officials during their press conference after Friday’s meeting, tried to belittle the importance of use of magnetic ink and its legal implications.
They said use of magnetic ink for thumb impressions was an additional step taken on Supreme Court orders. They claimed that under law only CNIC was a mandatory for identity verification of voters.
According to Director General Elections Malik Masood, NADRA had taken biometric data of the citizens at the time of preparing their CNICs. In many cases such data was taken ten years ago. In most cases where people do manual labour ridges on their thumbs fade away making it impossible to tally it with the database available with NADRA.
ECP officials failed to provide any satisfactory answer to queries why Rs100 million were spent on a project when they knew that it had neither any legal value nor it will provide required results.
Soon after the elections, Minister for science and technology Zahid Hamid had announced to hold inquiry into magnetic ink saga. A similar announcement was made by ECP, but no word has come out so far about out come of this inquiry.
Controversy over use of magnetic ink has further deepened as National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and Pakistan Council for Scientific Research (PCSIR) are at loggerheads over the quality of ink used for thumb impression of voters during last general elections.
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also now jumped in to this contentious issue. During Friday’s meeting at the ECP headquarters, the commission failed to trace any documentary evidence on selection of ink.
Before 2013 general elections, ECP had given PCSIR task to prepare the specialized ink with iron particles to get thumb impressions of every voter on the counterfoil of ballot paper at the time of polling. The purpose of using magnetized ink was to get every vote verified through biometric database of NADRA, in case a vote audit is required after the polls.
Before the 2013 general elections ECP had claimed that it has adopted fool proof measures to stop rigging and it would be able to audit every single vote in case of any controversy.
ECP spent Rs100 million to procure so called magnetic ink. It was claimed that the specialized ink have the properties which will make thumb impression of every voter easily readable.
Since the counterfoil of the ballot paper carries CNIC and thump impression of every voter, NADRA should be able to verify that it was of the same persons.
In case of a bogus vote it should also trace out the impersonating person and multiple votes cast.
Post election tribunals sent cases from over three dozen constituencies to NADRA to verify thumb impressions of voters. For most of the constituencies, NADRA reported that 75 percent thumbs were not unreadable.
NADRA accuses that substandard ink was used for thumb impressions. Its representatives have filed a affidavit with one of the tribunals in Lahore that ink used during the polls was not the one prescribed by NADRA.
During Friday’s meeting called to prepare a factsheet on rigging allegations, representatives of PCSIR claimed that the ink provided by them was exactly the same one approved by NADRA and ordered by ECP.
However, NADRA officials refuted PCSIR’s claim which lead to a hot debate. After that when ECP probed its record, it failed to find any thing in written record regarding specifications of ink it had ordered.
“No record was available with ECP. No one knows who ordered and approved magnetic ink. There is also no record regarding details about specification and ingredients of ink” sources privy to the meeting quoted ECP officials as telling to the commission. It is learnt that some officials have put the blame on the then Additional Secretary ECP Afzal Khan, who had recently accused commission of being involved rigging.
The officials claimed that Khan, who had retired after the polls, had given verbal instructions to PCSIR officials regarding the preparation of magnetic ink. It is not clear how will ECP proceed against the new revelations.
Afzal Khan when contacted, out rightly rejected the allegations. He said for every such project a detailed documentation is carried out.
“It is not possible. Those who know the working of the government offices are aware that it is not possible at all. Even PEPRA rules do not allow that. It was purchase of a pencil box. It was 90 million project”, he remarked.
He said under the procedure, a file is moved by a section officer and it goes through several stages before final approval is given by higher authorities.
“I was an administrative authority working under the chief accounting officer and the secretary. But we can not do anything without adopting the proper procedure” he remarked. Khan alleged that some elements in ECP are trying to malign him by leveling unsubstantiated allegations.
He further claimed that there was no truth in the claim that thumb impressions were not readable and NADRA was not being allowed to work.
In an attempt to absolve itself, ECP officials during their press conference after Friday’s meeting, tried to belittle the importance of use of magnetic ink and its legal implications.
They said use of magnetic ink for thumb impressions was an additional step taken on Supreme Court orders. They claimed that under law only CNIC was a mandatory for identity verification of voters.
According to Director General Elections Malik Masood, NADRA had taken biometric data of the citizens at the time of preparing their CNICs. In many cases such data was taken ten years ago. In most cases where people do manual labour ridges on their thumbs fade away making it impossible to tally it with the database available with NADRA.
ECP officials failed to provide any satisfactory answer to queries why Rs100 million were spent on a project when they knew that it had neither any legal value nor it will provide required results.
Soon after the elections, Minister for science and technology Zahid Hamid had announced to hold inquiry into magnetic ink saga. A similar announcement was made by ECP, but no word has come out so far about out come of this inquiry.