Vote fraud probe: ECP facing difficulties in securing record of ballot papers

ECP says it is trying to secure form 15, which had been sent to the treasury

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday told the special commission probing rigging in the May 2013 general elections, that it was trying to procuring records relating to the use of ballot papers by the returning officers (ROs) but was facing difficulties, a senior official told The Express Tribune.

While responding to a plea filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) for access to forms 14, 15, 16 and 17 of electoral records, the authority’s counsel Salman Akram Raja told the commission that while forms 14, 16 and 17 were available, the ECP was trying to secure form 15.

Form 15 contains an account of ballot papers prepared by the presiding officer, and carries details about the number of ballot papers entrusted to him, and those taken out from the ballot boxes and counted, besides the number of tendered, challenged and spoilt ballots.

Form 14, meanwhile, is the statement of the count, while form 16 is the consolidated statements of the count; form 17 is the result of the vote count.

During Monday's hearing, PTI’s counsel Abdul Hafiz Pirzada told the three-judge commission, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, that in pursuance of the commission’s last order, they had yet to gain access to forms 14, 15, 16, 17 and election scheme from the ECP. Pirzada added that this record was vital for them to proceed further.

PTI's counsel, while referring to Section 44 of The Representation of People Act 1976, said the ROs were bound to forward the packets to the ECP, which contain ballot papers each of which shall be sealed with a seal of the presiding officer, or with the ROs' seal if opened by the latter.

Pirzada, while questioning the fairness of the ECP’s conduct, said the commission was contradicting its earlier statement regarding the possession of record.

Similarly, Justice Amir Hani Muslim said that under the rules, record of ballot papers should be in the possession of ECP.

However, Raja said form 15 was sent to the treasury through a notification. He requested the commission to give one more day to file a proper reply on this matter.

The commission asked him to submit his reply by Tuesday.

Till December 2014, ROs had yet to provided the ECP with forms 14 and 15 for as many as 51 National Assembly constituencies.
According to the news report, 36 of the 51 constituencies from where the key documents are to be received by the ECP are from Punjab, seven are from Sindh, and three each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan while two are from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).