The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) asserted its independence on Monday by snubbing the Supreme Court and telling it not to interfere in its constitutional jurisdiction, and announced that the electoral rolls could not be completed before May.
Staying several by-elections, the apex court had asked the ECP to finalise the electoral lists by February 23. However, the ECP also challenged the Supreme Court order, taking a position that delaying by-elections would be unconstitutional. The ECP also said if the Supreme Court insisted on delaying by-elections, it would do so but this would not be in accordance with the law and the constitution. “The outside interference in the matters of the ECP will be against the principle of trichotomy,” Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (r) Hamid Ali Mirza said at a consultative meeting of the representatives of political parties held here at the ECP. He said Article 224 of the constitution clearly made it mandatory for the ECP to hold elections within 60 days of a seat becoming vacant.
The CEC said if any other institution of the state was to hold elections, as the ECP saw sometimes such desire on part of some quarters expressed through media, then the right course was to amend the constitution. He said responsibilities of every institutions were chalked out clearly in the constitution and unnecessary interference in the ECP’s matters meant negation of the constitution.
The meeting was attended by representatives of 14 political parties. A source told Pakistan Today that PML-N and JI strongly opposed the ECP’s stand on electoral rolls.
Later, addressing a press conference, ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed said it would be unfair to prepare the new voter lists in urgency. He said new electoral rolls to hold the 2013 general elections could not be finalised before May this year. He said the ECP was unable to comply with the Supreme Court’s orders to finalise the electoral rolls. He said the task of making electoral rolls should remain with the ECP without interference from any institutions. He said the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) would print preliminary lists in March that would be published for three weeks on at least 65,000 display centres across the country.
