President to announce date for next polls after consultation with ECP

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain will announce the date of the upcoming parliamentary polls after consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the caretaker government will not have anything to do with it.

The Elections Act gives this right or power to the president in the instant case. There is no mention in its Section 57 “notification of election programme” or anywhere else of his consultation with the interim setup to give the date of elections.

Section 11 of the Representation of People Act (ROPA), which was abolished after its merger in the Elections Act last year, had provided that as soon as may be necessary and practicable the president makes an announcement of the date or dates on which the polls shall be taken, the ECP not later than thirty days of such announcement will call upon a constituency to elect a representative or representatives.

In pursuance of this provision, the then president Asif Ali Zardari had in March 2013 acted on a summary sent to him by the interim prime minister and announced the date of the parliamentary polls.

In the present case, it appears that the president doesn’t require consultations with or a formal proposal from the interim premier to announce the date for the parliamentary polls as the Elections Act has expressly provided that he will consult with the ECP to the effect.

According to the Constitution, the president acts on the advice of the prime minister in almost all cases barring a couple of matters where he has the discretionary power to exercise.

The ECP enjoys the authority and has the responsibility to hold fair, free and transparent elections as mandated by the Constitution. The caretaker government can’t interfere in the functions and working of the ECP. It is the obligatory duty of the interim setup to assist the ECP in organising the elections in a smooth and orderly manner. It is the ECP which will take decisions related to the polls including the transfers and postings of bureaucrats.

Under Section 230 of the Elections Act, an interim government will perform its functions to attend to day-to-day matters which are necessary to run the affairs of the government; assist the ECP to hold polls in accordance with law; restrict itself to activities that are routine, non-controversial and urgent in the public interest and reversible by the future government elected after the elections; and be impartial to every person and political party.

Section 230 further says that the interim government will not take major policy decisions except on urgent matters; will not take any decision or make a policy that may have effect or preempt the exercise of authority by the future elected government; will not enter into major contract or undertaking if it is detrimental to public interest; will not enter into major international negotiation with any foreign country or international agency or sign or ratify any international binding instrument except in an exceptional case; will not make promotions or major appointments of public officials but may make acting or short term appointments in public interest; will not transfer public officials unless it is considered expedient and after approval of the ECP; and will not attempt to influence the polls or do or cause to be done anything which may, in any manner, influence or adversely affect the free and fair elections.

Thus, the domain, scope and authority of the stopgap setup has been consciously highly restricted by the lawmakers so that it doesn’t meddle with the electoral process. The prime minister, chief minister or a minister or any other members of a caretaker government will, within three days from the date of assumption of office submit to the ECP a statement of assets and liabilities including assets and liabilities of his spouse and dependent children as on the preceding 30th day of June and the ECP will publish the statement of assets and liabilities in the official Gazette.

It is believed that even before the caretaker setup will be sworn in on the expiration the tenure of the present government on May 31, the ECP might have prepared the election programme for the president to take a decision on fixing the date of elections. He may agree with the date suggested by the ECP or suggest some other day keeping in view certain pressing affairs.