ECP rejects president’s claim, denies being under pressure

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan has issued a statement denying the claim made by President Dr Arif Alvi that the commission was under immense pressure from the government.

The commission’s spokesperson on Thursday expressed regret over the president’s statement and made it clear that the commission had neither accepted pressure from any government in the past nor would it do so in future.

However, the commission fully agrees with the president’s statement on the Election Commission of India and hopes that “the Election Commission of Pakistan will have the necessary powers to conduct a clean and transparent election on the lines of the Election Commission of India.”

In recent letters to Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf, the chief election commissioner argued that the role of the president to announce the poll date was against the spirit of the Constitution and ultra vires the proviso of Article 222, which has abridged and taken away the powers of the commission mandated under Articles 218(3) and 219 of the Constitution.

The commission expressed reservations about the president’s letter, saying it expected better wording from him when addressing other constitutional institutions.