ISLAMABAD, Feb 9: The Election Commission of Pakistan has asserted that it has powers to impose a ban on mass recruitments even before the election date is announced.

In a verdict authored by Justice (retd) Riaz Kayani and available with Dawn, the commission explained that neither the Constitution nor any law barred it from guarding practices that could disturb level-playing field for elections.

“This omission by the lawgiver was intentional connoting that powers of the commission should not be abridged to the day when the date for election is announced but should be exercised through a preventive measure even before the (declaration of the) election date,” observed Justice (retd) Riaz Kayani, a member of the ECP from Punjab.

He dismissed objections raised by the federal government through Law Minister Farooq H. Naek, justifying that the commission had the right to put a ban on recruitments if it considered that any step taken by the incumbent governments (both federal as well as the provincial) has the potential of making the general elections non-transparent by giving an advantage to one contesting party over the other.

In a follow-up, the ECP has also sought an explanation from the ministries of railways, commerce, information and broadcasting and postal services, the cabinet division, the chief administrator, Auqaf Department, Sindh, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd, and Teaching Hospital, Bannu, for violating the directive not to do fresh recruitments.

Through a letter dated Jan 29, the federal government had taken a serious view of the ban imposed by the commission on Jan 22, stating that it could seriously affect the continuation of projects and could also be a hurdle in accomplishment of the mandate given to it by the Constitution and law.

Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim in his note, however, held that no recruitment and diversion of funds should be made without reference to the ECP, clarifying that the commission could consider any specific and bona fide request for recruitment or diversion of funds.

In an additional note, Justice (retd) Shahzad Akbar, a member of the ECP from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, observed that the ban on appointments and diversion of funds should not be construed as a hindrance in the governmental administration at any level. “The ECP is dynamically open to reasons,” he stated.

Justice (retd) Fazlur Rehman, a member of the ECP from Balochistan, observed that the opinion expressed by Justice (retd) Kayani was so comprehensive that it hardly needed any elaboration.

But Justice (retd) Roshan Essani, a member of the ECP from Sindh, dissented with the majority view.

“Mere words of Article 218(3) have not to be kept in consideration rather its spirit has to be seen and the mandate given to the ECP to conduct fair, free and transparent elections and guard against corrupt practices,” observed Justice (retd) Kayani.

This stance of the ECP, the member recalled, had also been upheld by the Supreme Court March 8, 2012 Workers Party judgment in which the court had held that in a parliamentary system of governance a constitutionally independent and empowered commission rested as one of the foundational stones of a democratic set-up.

The ECP is aware of the hazard, which the federal government has expressed in the letter by couching commission’s directions in extremely selective manner applicable to the reported steps of inducting thousands of people on different positions in different departments. Such recruitments, by any reasonable and prudent person would without hesitation dub such steps to amount to pre-poll rigging by way of political bribe, synonymous to the proverbial jobs for votes, Justice (retd) Kayani said in his verdict.

The verdict had also banned diversion of money to the discretionary fund of the prime minister and other important people by way of supplementary grants intended to reallocate such funds for its utilisation to promote their candidacy in the elections.