ECP to monitor electioneering: CEC

ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja said Thursday that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will monitor electoral campaigns and expenditure systematically and for this purpose, all arrangements have been completed.

He said this while speaking to a delegation of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). He said that the ECP will also consult with parties on the code of conduct. He added the draft of this will be sent to political parties before the consultation for feedback so that a better code of conduct can be established for future elections.

However, the CEC pointed out that legislation is needed on some party proposals, and the ECP will play its role in this regard, expecting political parties to do the same.

The CEC made these observations during a consultative meeting with TLP, and later with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PMLQ) separately. CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja, ECP members, secretary and other senior officers also attended the meeting.

He contended that to ensure peace and security, the services of the police, along with the armed forces and other law enforcement agencies will be sought in relation to the conduct of general elections. From TLP, Chaudhry Rizwan, Muhammad Qasim, Ziaur Rahman, and Chaudhry Azhar attended the meeting, whereas from PMLQ, Muhammad Tariq Hussain, Ms Farrukh Khan, Ghulam Mustafa, Rizwan Sadiq, and Hafiz Aqeel Jalil were present during the meeting. The TLP delegation briefed the ECP that in Islamabad’s local government elections, the government increased the number of Union Councils from 50 to 101, and later to 125. They viewed this as a negative move, which leads to the cancellation of elections, and expressed their reluctance to grant such authority to the government. They suggested that union councils in Pakistan should be empowered for a better local government system. They also emphasised the need for removal of deceased voters from voter list and opposed the appointing of returning officers from the judiciary due to their limited focus on election affairs.

They proposed improvement in election monitoring to ensure transparency and said that the electoral process should be completed within 90 days after the dissolution of the assemblies, even if constituency delimitation is required. They stressed the need to enhance peace and stability before the elections.

The CEC explained that under Article 140-A, the Election Commission has the responsibility to conduct elections in accordance with the local government laws of the provinces. He contended that provincial governments are not willing to hold elections, as when the Election Commission completes the arrangements for holding elections, changes are made to the laws.

He continued that the same happened in Islamabad. He said the Election Commission ensured the removal of deceased and duplicate voters from electoral rolls by obtaining data from Nadra and the Union Council, making the process more accurate: This process is ongoing on a permanent basis.

The PMLQ delegation endorsed the Election Commission’s decision on the new constituency delimitation. They emphasised that a new delimitation was necessary based on the released census results to ensure fairness.

The members of the delegation said that because the results of the census have been published: Therefore, according to the new census, there must be a new delimitation and if the constituencies are not delimited then it will be an injustice. They said the Election Commission is a constitutional body and they stand by it and they have full faith in the Election Commission. The elections conducted by the Election Commission headed by the Chief Election Commissioner, they noted, were very transparent. They also assured full support to the Election Commission in all phases of the elections.

Both parties expressed confidence in the Election Commission’s capabilities and commitment to transparent elections. The Chief Election Commissioner assured that the ongoing schedule for delimitation is supposed to be completed within 120 days by December 14, 2023.

However, he added, the ECP is trying to squeeze the duration of the process, and after that it would immediately announce election schedule. The Chief Election Commissioner also reiterated the Commission’s dedication to transparent and lawful constituency delimitation and elections.