EC hopes to receive all Form-15s in two days

ISLAMABAD: Despite claims by the opposition parties that a huge number of Form-15s of the 2013 general elections are missing, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is hopeful that after combining the forms from Returning Officers (ROs) and polling bags, the number of missing papers will reduce significantly.
“Forms 15 are not only preserved in polling bags but also kept by the concerned Returning Officer of each constituency. ECP is collecting Form-XV from both sources and we are hopeful that most of the Forms will be submitted to the commission within the next couple of days,” said the counsel for the ECP, Salman Akram Raja, while talking to The News.
He said the ECP is yet to submit these forms for all the constituencies to the commission probing alleged irregularities in 2013 elections.Talking to newsmen last week Imran Khan had claimed that Form 15 would be the game-changer in the inquiry commission, as it will expose the ‘massive irregularities’ committed in the 2013 general elections. A top legal expert of PTI told The News on Tuesday that initial examination of Form-15 have revealed a large number of forms are missing in several constituencies. But Salman Akram Raja feels the number of missing Form-XV will not be significant.“We have already submitted all Forms 14 before the commission and the two documents contain almost similar information,” Raja said.
Form 15 is also known as statement of ballot papers as it contains information about the total ballot papers received for use at the polling station with their serial numbers while Form 14 is called statement of count as it contains information about the vote polled at the polling station and individual votes obtained by all the contesting candidates.
All Forms 15 are filled by the presiding officers (PO) after the close of polling and put in the ballot bags. The document also contains the details of total number of tendered, challenged, spoilt and cancelled ballots.
Under section 38 of the Representation of People Act (ROPA), the presiding officers (POs) of every polling station has to fill up Form-15 separately for the national and provincial seats. Under the law, PO will give a certified copy of the statement of the count and the ballot paper account to such of the candidates, their election agents or polling agents as may be present and obtain a receipt for it.
Additionally, the total number of non-issued ballot papers with their serial numbers will also be written in the form. The total of all these categories of ballot papers has to equal the voting papers received by the polling station.
The PO will seal in separate packets the non-issued ballot papers, spoilt papers, tendered ballots, challenged ballots, the marked copies of the electoral rolls, counterfoils of used ballot papers, tendered votes list, challenged votes list and such other papers as the Returning Officer (RO) may direct.
Under the law, the PO will obtain on each statement and packet so prepared the signature of such of the contesting candidates or their agents or polling agents as may be present and, if any such person refuses to sign, the PO will record that fact.
A person required to sign a packet or statement may, if he so desires, also affix his seal to it. The PO will, in compliance with such instructions as may be given by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in this behalf, cause the packets, the statement of the count and the ballot paper account prepared by him to be sent to the RO together with such other records as it may direct.