ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has placed a ban on posting and transfer of district returning officers (DROs), returning officers (ROs) and assistant returning officers (AROs) appointed for the upcoming general polls.

According to a letter sent to the secretary establishment, chief secretaries of the four provinces, and chief commissioner Islamabad, the ban, which will continue till culmination of elections, also bars these officers from taking leave.

The ban will also be applicable on data entry operators (DEOs) engaged in the election process.

The letter requires full compliance with the directive. Its copies have also been sent to provincial election commissioners.

A senior ECP official, when contacted, stated that the commission had no choice but to appoint officers from the district administration to act as DROs and ROs following a refusal by the judiciary to spare judges of the lower courts.

LHC suspends ECP decision to appoint election staff from the executive

On the condition of anonymity, the official conceded that bureaucrats can easily be influenced by those in power.

He said under the law, subject to the superintendence, directions and control of the commission, the DRO is to coordinate and supervise all work in the district in connection with the conduct of an election and perform such other duties and functions as may be assigned by the commission.

Similarly, an RO is tasked with performing all necessary acts and tasks for the effective conduct of the poll in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Act, the Rules, and the directions of the commission.

An ARO is to assist the RO in performing functions under this Act and may, subject to any conditions imposed by the commission and the control of the RO, exercise powers and perform functions on behalf of the RO.

He said an RO is to appoint for each polling station a presiding officer and such number of assistant presiding officers and polling officers from amongst the officers of any government or corporations, autonomous or semi-autonomous bodies controlled by any government to assist the presiding officer as the RO may consider necessary.

He said the law bars the RO from appointing a person as a presiding officer, assistant presiding officer or polling officer who is or has, at any time, been in the employment of a candidate.

He said the RO, at least 30 days before the polling day, is required to submit to the DRO for approval a list of presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling officers including reserved staff as may be determined by the commission.

No change in the list shall be made after that, apart from exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the commission.

PTI petition against ROs

Separately, the Lahore High Court on Wednesday suspended an ECP decision to appoint election staff, including ROs, from the executive.

The order came from a bench hearing a petition filed by PTI against the appointments of the bureaucrats to act as ROs for upcoming general elections.

Justice Ali Baqar Najafi observed that on factual grounds, the apparent absence of a level playing field for the political party of the petitioner was visible to all and has also been seriously noted by many independent groups.

He said with top political leadership locked inside the jail or gone underground, electioneering by his political party would be a big question mark.

He noted that the apprehension of the petitioner of avoiding fair and free elections by the Election Commission of Pakistan appears to be well founded as some District Returning Officers, Returning Officers and Assistant Return­ing Officers are appointed from the presently posted members of the administration throughout the country with whom the petitioner’s political party does not inspire any confidence.

Justice Najafi observed that undoubtedly, the holding of general elections costs this poor nation billions, which may be wasted if the election results are not accepted by major political parties.

The judge referred the petition to the chief justice with a request to constitute a larger bench to decide the matter.

Earlier, during the hearing, Additional Attor­ney General Nasar Ahmad Mirza stated that the Election Commission had the power to reject the list of the officers provided by the government.

After hearing arguments from all parties, the judge had initially reserved his verdict on the petition, which was announced later at night.

Delimitation of constituency

In a related development, Justice Najafi reserved verdict on a petition by PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chann challenging the new delimitation of his Punjab Assembly constituency in Mandi Bahauddin.

Mr Chann’s counsel told the court that the ECP rejected the representation of the petitioner with regard to the delimitation of two provincial constituencies — PP-40 and PP-43.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2023