Crisis deepens: ECP running out of competent staff

Extended term of election commission’s secretary expires today

ISLAMABAD:

Already running without a permanent head for more than one year, the supreme electoral body will be devoid of its key bureaucracy in the days to come as besides the secretary Election Commission of Pakistan, who is retiring today, its two provincial election commissioners will also be retiring next month.

Unless given another extension in service, Tuesday will be the last day in office for secretary ECP. His second extended term — first for two years and the current one for one year — expires today (November 4).

The provincial election commissioner for Punjab, Mehboob Anwar, and Sonu Khan Baloch, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa election commissioner — who has availed record five extensions, will be retiring next month. Anwar has also availed a one year extension.

ECP sources said that the commission has written a letter to the principal secretary to the prime minister asking the premier to nominate three grade 22 officers for the post of secretary ECP. It is probably for the first time that ECP has resorted to this exercise apparently to avoid criticism from Opposition parties, mainly Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf that has been very critical of ECP’s state of affairs.

In the past, the federal government used to appoint a person of their choice for the pivotal post. Under the new procedure being adopted this time, ECP wants the federal government to nominate three names from the country’s top bureaucracy and the commission will then select one from them.

“The rules are flexible. The chief election commissioner and the election commission are empowered to make all decisions regarding appointments and promotions and extensions. The commission can appoint any one from within ECP and even extend the service of incumbent officers,” a top ECP official told The Express Tribune.

The outgoing Secretary ECP Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, who is stated to be the architect of many important reforms in the ECP, had joined as secretary in November 2009. He reached superannuation on November 11. He was first given two-year extension and later another one-year extension which has expired now.

Extensions

Critics say that extending the tenures of retiring officers not only discourages the younger lot but also leads to virtual chaos at institutions in the longer run.

Same is the case with ECP now. It is without a chief election commissioner since July 2013 when Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim resigned. Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, a serving judge of the Supreme Court, is serving as acting CEC in the absence of a permanent CEC. He is the third serving judge who is performing as acting CEC in a row — in addition to his actual duties as a judge of the apex court.

The SC had given the government and the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly having mandatory role in the appointment of CEC, a deadline of October 28 to appoint the permanent CEC. The order was not implemented and now the apex court has asked them to make an appointment immediately otherwise it will withdraw its judge leading to a constitutional crisis. CEC is a constitutional office which cannot be left vacant.

Important offices in ECP are falling vacant at a time when the commission has to perform very important tasks having far-reaching implications in the country’s political and electoral domains. It is to conduct delimitations in Punjab and Sindh for local government constituencies and hold local government polls in Punjab, Sindh and K-P.

The parliamentary committee on electoral reforms is working on a comprehensive constitutional and legal reforms package having far-reaching impact on electoral system. The Senate elections are also due in March next year. Moreover, dozens of cases of alleged rigging in last year’s elections are pending with post-election tribunals.

ECP also has to conduct fresh delimitations for national and provincial assemblies’ constituencies and prepare new electoral rolls after population census which is due since 1998. Keeping in view these tasks ECP would need experienced and capable persons in its bureaucracy.

Even the ECP additional secretary Sher Afgan, who is senior most after secretary in ECP’s bureaucracy, will not be available till January since he has gone to complete a mandatory course — a requirement to get promoted in grade 22.

Under these circumstances ECP might need to hire services of bureaucrats from other departments. But it will not be an easy task to get competent people from other federal departments who themselves are facing shortage of such staffers. Crisis deepens as more top bureaucrats are retiring this year while many departments are already being run with junior officers.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2014.