En masse access to ECP data

ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) while hearing in PTI’s application seeking access to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) server data; directed the petitioner Tasneem Noorani to produce a letter from the party chairman authorisng the petitioner to file this application.
The division bench comprising Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi and Justice Aamer Farooq directed the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-PTI’s chief election commissioner to submit the letter within three days time and put off hearing.
Earlier the IHC registrar office had raised this objection to the petition and the division bench today heard this petition with the objection.
On Monday November 09, PTI filed a petition seeking from the IHC directions to the ECP for en masse access of PTI to the ECP’s 8,300 server data as the PTI is trying to formulate credible voter lists throughout the country for its intra party elections.
Noorani through his counsel Farrukh Dall advocate has contended before the IHC that, PTI Election Commission has decided to register PTI members through their cell phones, on the basis of “one phone one vote”, by asking them to submit their names and CNIC numbers. This data will be received through the new telephone short code (9008) allotted to PTI as a political party by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The main server will lock the name with a CNIC number of the member. In order to geographically place its members PTI needs to get its members particulars, including the census code, from the existing available service of ECP, through 8300.
The petitioner said that they are facing with the problem that getting data of each member one by one, from 8,300 is very cumbersome and also time consuming, as SMS modems have speed limitation, as also the 8300 service. Therefore, the petitioner requested ECP to allow access to the 8300 service en masse, rather than individually, so that PTI could prepare credible voters list of its members, but ECP has not responded to the request.
The petitioner Noorani contended before the IHC that there is no prohibition in law for ECP for not allowing or permitting access of PTI server to ECP server for verification of data of voters.
Petitioner has prayed to the court to direct ECP to allow the petitioner/PTI’s server access to the ECP server for verification of data.