Electoral reforms: Election commission says it had no authority over ROs

Insists that material burnt in Lahore school fire was not related to polls

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday informed the parliamentary panel on electoral reforms that legislative constraint had restricted its authority and prevented it from initiating action against the returning officers (ROs).

Briefing the 33-member panel headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, ECP Secretary Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan said that the commission had proposed a set of changes in the existing laws which were not considered.

He said the poll body had no authority to take action against ROs and in case of any complaint only their respective departments could take action against them.

During the hearing, PPP lawmaker Senator Aitzaz Ahsan questioned the ECP secretary over irregularities that surfaced in NA-124 (Lahore), the constituency from where his wife lost during last year’s elections.

Ahsan claimed that as many as 152 of the 264 bags containing ballot papers were open in the constituency.

Referring to the Indian election laws, the secretary said that the poll body had proposed similar laws seeking effective control over all polling staff, including returning officers, district returning officers and presiding officers in a bid to make the electoral processes transparent and credible.

“We had proposed three years ago that the commission should be empowered through amendments in the laws,” he added.

On the appointment of ROs, the secretary said political parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)  had requested the appointment of judicial officers to act as DROs/ROs during last year’s polls. Subsequently, the committee asked the secretary to submit minutes of the meeting whereby the request was made.

Putting speculation to rest, the ECP secretary also said told the parliamentary panel that the material burnt in a Lahore school fire was not related to the elections.

Ahmed said the burnt material was meant for only holding the local body elections in the provinces except Balochistan where the polls had already been held.

Earlier this week, the commission challenged the PTI allegation that extra ballot papers were published by private printers of Urdu Bazaar Lahore.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2014.