ECP secretary claims material burnt in school fire not related to election 2013

ECP secretary says the body is not bound by law to display 'Form XIV' on its website

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) secretary Ishtiak Ahmed Khan claimed on Thursday that material owned by the body, which was burnt during a fire at a school in Lahore on September 22, was not related to the May 2013 elections.

Briefing the Parliamentary Electoral Reforms Committee (PERC), chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, secretary ECP on Thursday, Ahmed said that the material was meant for holding local bodies election in the provinces except Balochistan and was not related to the May 2013 general elections.

On September 22, material belonging to ECP was destroyed after fire broke out in the basement of Central Model School, Ratigan Road, Lahore.

School officials said they had rented out the basement to the ECP after the May 2013 elections.

Replying to queries submitted by committee members, Ahmed said that as per law, the ECP was bound to preserve election material for at least one year, adding the ECP had not yet ordered disposal of any material relating to May 2013 elections.

He clarified that election material had also been stored at other locations due to shortage of storage capacity. However, the ECP secretary said they had prepared a PC-1 to increase its storage capacity, and requested the finance minister to help the commission in this regard.

Ahmed further said that ballot papers had been printed and distributed among the ROs and presiding officers in the presence of Pakistan Army adding that the voter bags could only be opened on the order of election tribunals.

Responding to a query by a member of the committee, the secretary said that the Returning Officers (ROs) were selected from the judiciary on the demand of political parties.

Initially, Ahmed said that there was a plan to acquire the services of 3,000 ROs from federal and provincial government departments, for which letters had also been dispatched. Upon this, the committee chairman asked the ECP Secretary to bring minutes of the meeting held with political parties with regard to appointments of ROs, in next sitting of the committee.

During Thursday's meeting, Dar directed the ECP to come up with suggestions to improve the existing electoral system in the country.

"Election Commission of Pakistan should come up with suggestions to further improve the election system in the country," Dar said, adding that the body has so far received about 540 suggestions from different quarters.

He also directed the ECP to produce complete details about candidates’ complaints and objections against ROs and the action taken by ECP in this regard.

However, the secretary explained that the ECP had no authority to take action against ROs and in case of any complaint, only the parent department of the RO could take action against them.

Responding to a question of Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed about form XIV, the secretary said ECP was not bound to display 'Form XIV' on its website, however, it was the right of every contesting candidates to take the form after following due process.

Ahmed further informed the committee that its report, which was only recently made public, was based on difficulties faced by the ROs and POs during the elections. He added that the official report on the election was still being processed and will be published shortly.

The secretary underlined the need for increasing the scrutiny time of candidates, saying the seven day period was not enough.