‘Aliens to conduct polls’: Statement amounts to ridiculing Constitution, says ECP

ISLAMABAD: Reacting strongly to a reported statement by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi that aliens will conduct the next general election, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday said ‘this is against the spirit of the Constitution and its (ECP mandate)’.

However, the commission neither mentioned the prime minister's name nor his constitutional title. In a statement, the commission said it was prepared to conduct free and fair general election in 2018.

It asserted that those holding top constitutional offices should refrain from making statements based on speculations and hearsay. "The Election Commission vehemently rebuts the reported statement," the statement said.

The statement, read out by a spokesperson for the ECP, explained that holding free, just and independent elections was the responsibility of the Election Commission and that under articles 218, 220 and Sections 4,5,6,8,9,10 and 11 of the Elections Act, 2017, the commission was completely independent to discharge its legal constitutional responsibilities.

It maintained that such statements were completely against the Constitution and amounted to ridiculing the Constitution of Pakistan. Prime Minister Abbasi made the remarks while interacting with journalists during a dinner hosted by the National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

The prime minister said the next general election would be conducted by ‘aliens’ and not by the caretaker government. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has also claimed that he was not contesting against the Pakistan People’s Party or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf but ‘aliens’. He made these observations while talking to media persons during his appearance at the accountability court.