Solid proof needed for issuing show cause notices: CJ

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission probing the alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections on Tuesday observed that solid and concrete proof was required for issuing show cause notices to the persons responsible for violating the rules and regulations of the Representation of People’s Act 1976.
A three-member commission, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and comprising Justice Ameer Hani Muslim and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, resumed the hearing in the alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections.
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, counsel for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), while continuing his last leg of arguments, contended before the commission that the rules and regulations of the Representation of People’s Act 1976 were severely violated.
“The punishment for violation of the said law is two years imprisonment and was any prompt action taken against the violators,” Pirzada questioned saying that the violators should have been issued show cause notices.
Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, however, observed that solid proof was required for issuing show cause notices.
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada submitted that the launching of the whole polling scheme for the 2013 elections remained suspicious, saying that people securing a few hundred votes were elected as public representatives. The learned counsel, while giving some of the record of the constituencies, said that in NA-125, 75 percent of Forms 15 were found missing while 30 polling bags were also found missing.
He said that 120,000 extra ballot papers were printed for this constituency while there was no record of 61,800 ballot papers adding that district and Returning Officers were responsible for the violation of rules and regulations adding that the Election Tribunal had annulled the elections in the said constituency while the matter was also pending before the Supreme Court.
Similarly, the learned counsel submitted that there was a difference between the statistics of Forms 15 received from the Returning Officers (ROs) as well as the forms retrieved from the polling bags.
He further submitted that there was a hundred percent voting turnout at one polling station of NA-119. Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, however, while going through the record, corrected the learned counsel that there were 603 registered voters at this polling station while 561 votes were polled there.
Pirzada contended that there was no check and monitoring over the election staff and everybody was using his own will. He said that the Returning Officers (ROs), while recording their statements before the commission, gave their own story while the staff of the Election Commission of Pakistan had a different version.
Some of the Returning Officers testified before the commission that they had received directions for printing extra ballot papers while some said that they had themselves determined the printing of extra ballot papers.
“The Returning Officers as well as the District Election Commission took their own decisions,” Pirzada said adding that no record was available with the Election Commission on nine million ballot papers.
Preserving the extra ballot papers is the biggest failure on the part of the Election Commission of Pakistan and as a failed to perform its constitutional obligation during the electionsThe learned counsel also gave an example of irregularities made in NA-154 Lodhran saying that if extra ballot papers to be required for printing as per formula, it was not more than 23,000 however, he said that here 74,000 extra ballot papers were printed.
He contended that in KP, Sindh and Balochistan, the Election Commission determined the printing of extra ballot papers however, in Punjab Returning Officers were assigned the responsibility for the determination of printing of extra ballot papers.
He further submitted that 70, 000 elections staff was not imparted proper training for exercising their duties during the time of elections adding that according to the statement recorded by Moeen Bano, the Additional Session Judge and RO at the time of 2013 elections the Presiding Officers (POs) were not properly trained for filling Forms 15 saying that she did the same work.
He further said that the ballot paper book of the nearest constituency had been produced before the learned Commission by anchorperson Hamid Mir. The learned counsel submitted that due to the incompetency of the Election Commission of Pakistan, crisis emerged after every general election. Meanwhile, the Inquiry Commission adjourned the hearing till today (Wednesday) wherein Abdul Hafiz Pirzada will conclude his arguments.