ECP says didn’t make remarks delimitation or electoral rolls flawed

ISLAMABAD: A news item published in a local newspaper which created an impression that the ECP has mentioned in its annual report that the delimitation carried out and electoral rolls prepared by the ECP before general elections were flawed. In this regard, it is clarified that the Election Commission has not made any remarks regarding delimitation or electoral rolls being flawed and the news is not based on facts and has been reported out of context.

In this regard, it is clarified that under Section 14 (1) of the Elections Act 2017, ECP prepared Action Plan for the General Elections 2018 which inter alia included the delimitation of constituencies and preparation of electoral rolls. Under sub-section (2) of the Section 14 ibid, the ECP is required to carry out post-election review of the said Action Plan to ascertain shortcomings encountered during its implementation and make suggestions to further improve the electoral system. Section 14 (2) of the Elections Act 2017 reads as under:

“(2) The Commission shall carry out a post-election review of implementation of the Action Plan to ascertain shortcomings, if any, with suggestions to further improve the electoral system.”

3). Under Section 16 of the Elections Act 2017, ECP had included the aforesaid Post-election Review report in the Annual Report Prepared and shared by it with the federal and provincial governments for placing the same before the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies.

4) In the backdrop, it was stated in chapter of Delimitation of constituencies that the ECP faced many challenges during the delimitation process which were timely overcome by the ECP in coordination with provincial governments and the whole task was completed within shortest possible time. Similarly, during preparation of electoral rolls, the challenges faced by the ECP were also overcome in collaboration with Nadra and other departments and the whole process was completed within the scheduled timeframe.

5).To apprise the ECP has made suggestions/recommendations in the post-election review to let the legislature about the challenges encountered and for taking necessary steps to further improve the electoral system.

Umar Cheema responds: Our story is based on what has been written in ECP’s own report sent to the government for its tabling in Parliament. We leave it to the readers to conclude from the excerpts.

On page 126 wherein the challenges faced on delimitation front are mentioned, the report reads: “Accuracy of maps was a pre-requisite for error free delimitation. In some cases, maps corresponded neither to revenue record nor census record. Therefore, the Committee repeatedly returns maps to revenue departments/local administration for necessary rectification…The inconsistencies in revenue record was another challenge. There were some serious inconsistencies between revenue record and maps provided by district administration. For instance, in some cases the district administration for its convenience divided the areas of a large patwar circle among two or more parts, without any notification, according to the post-election review…The maps of census charges in respect of urban areas of big cities such as Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Multan received from PBS (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics) were without physical features on the maps. In Balochistan, different patwar circles were split in non-contiguous two parts in different areas of Quetta and Killa Abdullah districts which created difficulties for the delimitation of the constituencies.”

On page 127, the ECP has recommended rectification process: “Article 51 of the Constitution may be amended to provide that fresh delimitation be carried out not later than one year before the completion of the terms of the respective assembly.” What necessitates fresh delimitation if the one carried out earlier was flaw-free?

Then read page 138 for post-election review on electoral rolls, the challenges faced and subsequent recommendations. Regarding the challenges, ECP’s annual report reads: “The process of revision of electoral rolls 2017-2018 was exceptional and challenging due to time constraints as the PBS provided the requisite data in December 2017 which was expected in June 2017….Nadra mentioned incomplete addresses in the NICs of citizens and same are reflected in the electoral rolls which made it difficult for verifying officials to locate such voters or even allocate an appropriate and relevant CBC (Census Block Code) to them….Non-issuance of NIC to women is the prime reason for gender gap in electoral rolls due to complexities and challenges faced by women in registration with Nadra.”

In the recommendations part starting from page 138, the following is the first recommendation from the ECP: “The Election Act, 2017, may be amended to bind PBS to amend census block code scheme in consultation with the Commission so that accurate delimitation and electoral rolls could be provided to general public, candidates and political parties.”