autonomous bodies, local governments and corporations established or controlled by such governments.
District returning officers, ROs, assistant ROs, presiding officers, assistant presiding officer, polling officer, and any other official engaged in the election duty shall deemed to be under the control, superintendence and discipline of the commission for the period commencing on and from the date of notification of the election schedule till publication of the name of the returning candidate in the official gazette.
The commission shall be competent to initiate and finalise disciplinary action and impose penalty against any officer or official of any act of misconduct provided in the Efficiency and Discipline Rules.
According to the draft act, the commission could also suspend or withdraw any officer or official performing any duty in connection with an elections, or any other public functionary or any member of the police force or any other law enforcing agencies who: (a) obstructs or prevents or attempts to obstruct or prevent the conduct of a fair and impartial poll; or (b) interferes or attempts to interfere with an elector when he records his vote; or (c) influences or attempts to influence in any manner the polling staff or an elector; or (d) does any other act calculated to influence the result of the election; or (e) disobeys any order, or avoids to carry out any instruction duly issued by the commission or any officer authorised to issue any order of instruction or violates any provision of this act.
The draft act also talks about the commission’s power relating to the delimitation of constituencies and electoral rolls. About the principles of delimitation, the draft act says that all constituencies for general seats shall be delimited having regard to the distribution of population in geographically compact areas, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience and the cognate factors to ensure homogeneity in the creation of constituencies.
As far as may be the constituencies for election to the same assembly shall be equal among themselves in population: provided that variation in population of constituencies of the same assembly shall not ordinarily exceed 10 percent, and if this limit is exceeded in exceptional cases, the reason thereof shall be recorded in the delimitation order.
The commission shall prepare electoral rolls for election to the National Assembly, provincial assemblies and local government and shall revise the rolls annually and from time to time in the prescribed manner.
As per the draft act, Nadra shall transfer data of each fresh computerised national identity card issued by it to the commission for automatic registration of the holder as a voter in the electoral roll of the election area in which his permanent residence is situated and the commission shall intimate the voter so registered about his registration.