‘ECP to spend Rs58bn on elections’

LAHORE: Former Election Commission of Pakistan Secretary and Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister on Law and Parliamentary Affairs Kunwar Muhammad Dilshad has said Rs58 billion would be spent on the general elections, and Rs17 billion only for security.

Talking to the daily “Jang,” he said 14,000 candidates were likely to participate in the National and Provincial Assembly elections, who would spend Rs500 billion on their campaigns. 

“If election results are not in the country’s interest, it can be economically dangerous for the country,” he warned, adding that the country could reach bankruptcy due to the issuance and expenditure of such a large amount of funds. “In the situation, if even one political party does not accept election results, then anarchy and confusion will arise, the consequences of which can be serious,” he cautioned.

He said that the Chief of Army Staff was bringing investment of more than $50 billion in Pakistan, but the effort could not yield sufficient results in the circumstances. “Considering all these facts on the ground, the remarks made by former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial regarding the election were important, that along with the Constitution, the facts on the ground were also very important. The decision to conduct the election under the supervision of the bureaucracy is correct because the judiciary does not hold polls in any country of the world,” he added.

“According to the Indian election law, lawyers are not allowed to appear before the Election Commission of India. The candidate appears before the commissioner with their complaint and application. In India, if the election commission issues a notice to the chief minister, he appears himself instead of sending a lawyer. Returning officers in India are recruited from the bureaucracy. If returning officers are found involved in corrupt practices, the election commission has powers to dismiss them. During the election period in India, the returning officers’ ACRs are also written by the election commissioner, while it is not the case in Pakistan,” he maintained.

The former ECP secretary said that in India, if a member of the assembly is to be disqualified, there is no need to send a reference to the Speaker, like in Pakistan. “It writes to the President who is bound to act. Disputes about disqualification in Pakistan take many months and years. The Chief Justice of Pakistan should form a commission after this election to empower the ECP. The Election Commission of India can invalidate any party but the ECP does not have the power. The Election Commission of India can ban a political party for violating secularism.”

He said that the ECP should be given powers to ban a party which attacks the ideological basis of the country and these powers should be determined by a commission formed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan.