Writers and intellectuals of Sindh have written a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Fakhrudin Ibrahim, drawing his immediate attention towards the multiple facts that can jeopardise the process of transparent and impartial general elections in Pakistan.
“A person of your stature ought to take serious note of these submissions as you have a proven track record of credibility and integrity,” according to the letter exclusively available with the Pakistan Today.
“In Sindh, the caretaker government is a shadow cabinet of the previous government. Most of the ministers and advisors are known to be loyal to the previous government. Most of the caretaker cabinet members have proven their loyalties to the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Such a caretaker government can influence the next general elections in favour of their parties. Transparency of electoral process is pivotal to the whole process and the current regime is negating that same spirit,” mentioned the letter.
It further stated that, “Key ministers and assembly members of previous government are openly using government vehicles, security and protocols. They are flouting all basic laws, rules of business and code of conduct set by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). This flagrant misuse of state resources and government facilities clearly indicates that the political parties that have been ruling Sindh for the last five years will influence the election process, thus stigmatising the ECP”.
The letter also pointed out that the previous government in its last month in power had recruited a large number of employees and had posted its cronies on key positions to hijack the next elections. A major administrative shake up in Sindh was the need of the time, the letter stressed. “The current caretaker government of Sindh did not seem to undertake such initiative for their partiality like the Punjab caretaker government. ECP should ensure that administrative machinery did not let the previous regime to influence the forthcoming general elections,” it mentioned.
Furthermore, the letter stated that, “The Sindh caretaker government had decided in its first cabinet meeting to recruit 8,000 police officials/officers in Karachi for the forthcoming general elections. People of Sindh have serious concerns as to how it is possible to recruit 8,000 security personal and train them in such a short time when less than six weeks are left before the general elections commenced. It is feared that such large scale recruitments may eventually be used to influence the election process through loyal party workers.”
Moreover, the writing stated that, “It has been noticed that several important meetings are being held in the Governor House. Sindh governor is a well known leader of a certain ethnic group. The caretaker Sindh chief minister has been seen visiting the Governor House and the Governor has been presiding over meetings related to the law and order situation. The chief minister is the chief executive of the entire province, so how is it possible to conduct the elections in a fair manner when the governor belongs to a certain political party that is aggressively pursuing votes.”
“We sincerely hope that under your credible leadership, the ECP will take serious note of the aforementioned concerns and address the same to ensure transparent and unadulterated general elections,” the letter concluded.
