Pakistan Bar Council: Voters offered up to Rs5 million
Votes for the PBC election are selling for around Rs2 million each, according to candidates and bar council members.
LAHORE:
Votes for the Pakistan Bar Council election are selling for around Rs2 million each, according to candidates and bar council members.
Thirty candidates are running for the 22 PBC seats up for election on December 22. The voters are elected members of the provincial bar councils.
Two candidates and several voters told The Express Tribune that in previous elections, votes would sell for no more than Rs600,000-Rs800,000. The value of the council seats had gone up, they said, since a PBC representative was appointed to the Judicial Commission, which selects judges for the superior courts.
The increased importance of the seats was reflected, they said, in an alleged offer from former attorney general Malik Qayyum to buy votes for Rs5 million each. Qayyum, they said, had made the offer to a panel of eight voters, provided they all committed to voting for him. The deal did not go through, following which Qayyum withdrew his candidacy, they said.
Qayyum, who resigned as a Lahore High Court judge in 2001 amidst accusations of misconduct, denied this. “I had planned to contest the election, but when I saw all the horse trading going on I decided not to file nomination papers,” he said.
One candidate, on condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that of the total 75 voters of the Punjab Bar Council, 25 had sold their votes. Another candidate claimed to have recorded a negotiation between one candidate and a panel of three voters who seek a total of Rs7.5 million for their votes. The candidate found that too high a price, he said.
Lawyers said that before November 30, the date at which nomination papers were filed, the average cost of votes was around Rs1.5 million. Now it is closer to Rs2 million, they said.
Candidate Khurram Latif Khan Khosa said he knew of one lawyer standing for the election who had bought three votes for Rs1.5 million, Rs1.8 million and a Honda City car, the latter on the condition that the voter would go underground till the election so he could not be swayed with a gift by another candidate.
“Most voters choose on merit or out of loyalty, but some black sheep surely sell their votes,” he said. “There is bargaining going on and you will see big deals as the election gets closer.”
Candidate Muhammad Ramazan Chaudhry said that most lawyers were ethical in casting their votes, but conceded that some sold them as well. “No more than five voters of the Punjab Bar Council sell their votes,” he said.
Chaudhry said that he had heard rumours that votes were selling for over Rs1 million each. “The PBC election was always important but since a representative was put on the Judicial Commission, its significance has increased,” he said.
Election process
Of the 30 candidates up for election, Ramazan Chaudhry, Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, Hamid Khan, Asrarul Haq Mian, Mian Abbas Ahmed and Azam Nazeer Tarar are believed to be almost certain to win seats.
The 22 seats on the council are divided among the provinces, with Punjab getting 11 seats, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa four, Sindh six, and Balochistan one seat. Candidates must be members of the Supreme Court Bar Association to qualify.
Voting will be held on December 22 while the result will be officially notified on December 31.
The attorney general of Pakistan will serve as the election commissioner and officials of the Senate of Pakistan will conduct the election and the official count.
The count is calculated according to a formula under which voters get to choose a candidate for each seat in their province, and rank them in descending order. So a Punjab voter would vote for 11 candidates, with the candidate he ranks number one getting 100 points, followed by fewer points for the second-placed candidate, and so on.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2010.
Votes for the Pakistan Bar Council election are selling for around Rs2 million each, according to candidates and bar council members.
Thirty candidates are running for the 22 PBC seats up for election on December 22. The voters are elected members of the provincial bar councils.
Two candidates and several voters told The Express Tribune that in previous elections, votes would sell for no more than Rs600,000-Rs800,000. The value of the council seats had gone up, they said, since a PBC representative was appointed to the Judicial Commission, which selects judges for the superior courts.
The increased importance of the seats was reflected, they said, in an alleged offer from former attorney general Malik Qayyum to buy votes for Rs5 million each. Qayyum, they said, had made the offer to a panel of eight voters, provided they all committed to voting for him. The deal did not go through, following which Qayyum withdrew his candidacy, they said.
Qayyum, who resigned as a Lahore High Court judge in 2001 amidst accusations of misconduct, denied this. “I had planned to contest the election, but when I saw all the horse trading going on I decided not to file nomination papers,” he said.
One candidate, on condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that of the total 75 voters of the Punjab Bar Council, 25 had sold their votes. Another candidate claimed to have recorded a negotiation between one candidate and a panel of three voters who seek a total of Rs7.5 million for their votes. The candidate found that too high a price, he said.
Lawyers said that before November 30, the date at which nomination papers were filed, the average cost of votes was around Rs1.5 million. Now it is closer to Rs2 million, they said.
Candidate Khurram Latif Khan Khosa said he knew of one lawyer standing for the election who had bought three votes for Rs1.5 million, Rs1.8 million and a Honda City car, the latter on the condition that the voter would go underground till the election so he could not be swayed with a gift by another candidate.
“Most voters choose on merit or out of loyalty, but some black sheep surely sell their votes,” he said. “There is bargaining going on and you will see big deals as the election gets closer.”
Candidate Muhammad Ramazan Chaudhry said that most lawyers were ethical in casting their votes, but conceded that some sold them as well. “No more than five voters of the Punjab Bar Council sell their votes,” he said.
Chaudhry said that he had heard rumours that votes were selling for over Rs1 million each. “The PBC election was always important but since a representative was put on the Judicial Commission, its significance has increased,” he said.
Election process
Of the 30 candidates up for election, Ramazan Chaudhry, Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, Hamid Khan, Asrarul Haq Mian, Mian Abbas Ahmed and Azam Nazeer Tarar are believed to be almost certain to win seats.
The 22 seats on the council are divided among the provinces, with Punjab getting 11 seats, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa four, Sindh six, and Balochistan one seat. Candidates must be members of the Supreme Court Bar Association to qualify.
Voting will be held on December 22 while the result will be officially notified on December 31.
The attorney general of Pakistan will serve as the election commissioner and officials of the Senate of Pakistan will conduct the election and the official count.
The count is calculated according to a formula under which voters get to choose a candidate for each seat in their province, and rank them in descending order. So a Punjab voter would vote for 11 candidates, with the candidate he ranks number one getting 100 points, followed by fewer points for the second-placed candidate, and so on.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2010.