ECP ‘may not’ hold polls in Lahore under CCPO Dogar

ISLAMABAD: As the Supreme Court’s written order regarding the police officer Ghulam Mehmood Dogar has not yet been issued, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is also deliberating on the option of putting its foot down to assert the authority guaranteed in the Constitution.

In case the power of ECP is undermined by suspending the decisions it took, the commission might consider postponing the by-elections to be held in Lahore and subsequent provincial assembly elections there in the presence of Dogar whose partisan conduct is already obvious, said an ECP official while talking to The News.

Under the Constitution, the ECP is fully independent in such matters while performing its duty to ensure free elections. This right has been guaranteed in Article 218 (3), which reads: “It shall be the duty of the Election Commission to organise and conduct the election and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law, and that corrupt practices are guarded against.” Transfers and postings of bureaucracy is in line with the power vested in the ECP.

To make a final decision in this regard, an ECP official said, a meeting has been convened on Tuesday which will be chaired by the Chief Election Commission, Sikandar Sultan Raja. All the four members of the commission will be in attendance.

The commission had agreed on the transfer of CCPO Lahore Dogar on the grounds of his past conduct during the government of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as he was working at the wish and whim of Imran Khan. A recent audio leak in which Dr Yasmin Rashid was heard voicing concerns on delay in his joining after the SC order further substantiated the allegation.

The SC’s objections about his removal were mostly about the verbal nature of the consent taken by Punjab’s caretaker administration from CEC. The ECP was of the view that the consent was granted after the decision was approved by all the members.

It was further clarified that hundreds of transfers take place after the interim set up comes into existence and verbal orders follow the written directions in order to formalise the process and this is a routine in administration matters. The SC order came a day after a purported audio leak in which Pervaiz Elahi was heard discussing Dogar’s case with respect to the bench, which would decide on it.

While the ECP would decide the fate of elections in Lahore on Tuesday, it has also convened a meeting today (Monday) to decide whether or not CEC Raja should meet President Dr Arif Alvi on the latter’s request. President Alvi, it appears, wants to call this meeting an act of consultation that would follow the announcement of election date of provincial assemblies elections, which he is not mandated to do; it is discretion of the governors of the respective provinces, a point the ECP has already made in response to the letter of President Alvi.

The ECP is facing an awkward dilemma. While the governors are not ready to announce the date of provincial elections, the Lahore High Court had directed the ECP to consult with them and announce the date whereas its point that the Constitution hasn’t empowered him to do it has been outrightly ignored. The ECP had requested the Lahore High Court and later the Supreme Court to issue a clear verdict authorising the commission to announce the date if the judicial branch thinks the ECP can do that. However, the courts are reluctant to pass any such direction.