With or without biometric: ECP to settle LG polls issue with K-P on Tuesday

Two options to be offered; polls would get delayed to October 2015 if K-P opts for biometric option

ISLAMABAD:

In its maiden meeting with the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in the chair, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) indicated it could settle the issue of use of biometric machines in the Local Government (LG) elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday.

CEC Justice (retd) Sardar Raza, who took office earlier this month, has summoned a meeting of ECP on December 30, wherein the commission will put before K-P government two options - LG polls with biometrics or without biometrics.

A senior official of ECP told The Express Tribune that if the K-P government would go for biometric identification of voters - be it in one district only, it will delay the polls to at least October next year.

ECP opines that it takes same time to procure and install the biometric system for whole province or for one district or a tehsil only.



Use of biometric machines for verification of voter’s identity in the next LG polls has been a bone of contention between PTI-led K-P government and ECP since last one year.

The Supreme Court has already asked the two sides to settle the matter and come up with a definitive date for holding LG polls which have been pending since 2009.

Election authorities want to submit a reply to the apex court which is scheduled to take up the case on January 8th to get an update.  Imran Khan’s PTI-led K-P government had initially announced to hold LG polls with biometric machines throughout the province. After ECP objections, it decided to use biometrics in the provincial capital Peshawar only. However, ECP has certain reservations over this proposal as well.

ECP officials say that if the province opts for use of biometric machines, it would need almost a year to adopt the system and polls will be possible by end of next year. And that too if uninterrupted preparations start now, they pointed.

Moreover, ECP officials claim that the commission has already proposed parliament to make a legislation which allows next general elections to be held with electronic voting machines (EVMs). These EVMs have an inbuilt biometric system in addition to other facility.

If the K-P uses biometric machines for LG polls, these will be used for only one time if the EVMs are successfully installed by the next general elections.

Besides capacity issues to use such machines, both K-P government and ECP have budget constraints for the machines. LG polls being provincial subject after the 18th constitutional amendment, ECP wants K-P to fund the project itself and make proper arrangements for storage of these machines after the polls. “We will be giving them two clear-cut options-whole elections with biometrics or without biometrics. Choose one option. In the latter’s case we are ready to organise polls in March-April,” the official involved with preparatory work for the meeting said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2014.