No more elections on bogus voters' lists: SC
20 January, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Issuing a stay order on the upcoming by-elections on existing voters' lists, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to prepare "verified voter lists" first and then hold elections in those constituencies. A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the petitions moved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and PPP leader Benazir Bhutto for the preparation of transparent voters' lists. The court accepted the plea of Naseem Chaudhry, the chairperson of National Assembly's Standing Committee on Law and Justice, to give time for the validation of the status of 28 parliamentarians who were elected through by-elections after the passage of the 18th Amendment. During the hearing, the court was requested that the bill for 20th Amendment had been moved in parliament, which deals with the said matter, so time should be granted in this regard. The chief justice said the court would not allow the ECP to hold elections on bogus voters' lists because the constitution demanded transparency in elections. He said the court in its July 30, 2009, decision had buried the Doctrine of Necessity, and that the system would be affected if the court stopped those 28 parliamentarians. The chief justice said there was no martial law in India because they didn't back out from the constitution. He said the court wanted the votes of overseas Pakistanis to be included in the voters' lists till February 24. The court directed the attorney general of Pakistan to hold meeting with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the ECP for stopping the by-elections, which were being held on unverified voters' lists. The court adjourned the hearing of the case till February 6. Last Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected the ECP's plea to extend the deadline for finalising the electoral lists and directed it to use all the resources to complete the task by the deadline. The court also noted that the ECP talked about transparency, but its secretary was on two years' contract, and was reemployed after his retirement. The court asked why the staff already working in the commission had been promoted to the post. The court also asked how the commission would work independently in the presence of its contractual secretary. The bench expressed dissatisfaction over the report submitted by Joint Secretary Sher Afgan, saying the notice for updating the electoral lists was issued in 2009 on the petition of Benazir Bhutto, but still the task had not been completed. During the hearing, the ECP official stated that it was not possible for the commission to meet the deadline, and the official tried to shift the responsibility of delay on NADRA. Sher Afgan said that after receiving the lists from NADRA, the ECP would proceed further and display them at 55,000 registration centres set up across the country. The chief justice told the joint secretary that the court had passed an order, "which is of binding nature". He forbade the official to give such an excuse in the future that shows that the ECP would not be able to finish the task in time. "The task shall be completed within the deadline and it is their duty to complete the electoral rolls within time," NADRA General Manager Syed Muzffar Ali submitted last week. He had said that NADRA was giving full attention to preparing the lists. "The authority has, therefore, enhanced its capacity four times". End.
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