ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court ordered on Wednesday that intending candidates submit a separate affidavit along with new nomination forms for the general elections scheduled for July 25.

The affidavit, which has been developed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) under the apex court’s directive as an interim measure, contains key information that has been omitted from the new nomination forms.

“This is the right of the people to know about the credentials of the candidates they are voting for,” Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar observed while heading a five-judge SC bench that had taken up two appeals against the Lahore High Court order setting aside the new nomination forms formulated by parliament through the Elections Act 2017.

The petitions were filed by National Assembly Spea­ker Ayaz Sadiq and the ECP.

Affidavit developed by ECP under apex court’s directive contains key information omitted by parliament from new nomination forms

Mr Sadiq’s counsel Shahid Hamid argued that the only thing in which the speaker was interested was that the law adopted by parliament for designing the new nomination papers should be preserved.

“We need affidavit for transparency in the elections,” the chief justice observed, adding that the copy of the affidavit would be directly dispatched to the apex court by returning officers (ROs). And if any omission was made or false or wrong information was provided by the candidate while filling up the affidavit, he said, it would be considered perjury on the part of the contesting candidate and proper action would be taken against the individual under contempt of the court and other relevant laws by doing away the requirements of Article 225 of the Constitution that asked for resolution of election disputes through tribunals.

“We need clean people in parliament,” the chief justice observed.

The draft of the affidavit will be placed on the ECP’s official website immediately and communicated to all ROs. It will also be published by the commission in all leading newspapers and broadcast on the electronic media.

The chief justice clarified that the nomination forms developed under the Elections Act would remain intact and the court was asking for the affidavit under its inherent jurisdiction it enjoyed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution for complete justice.

The court also hinted that it might constitute a different bench to deal with the issue relating to election expenses and also consider imposing a ban on extravagance during election campaigns.

“Is it necessary to print panaflex, banners and why it is necessary to deface walls through wall chalking, etc?” the chief justice asked.

The court order said that the cases which primarily revolved around the nomination forms for candidates of the national and provincial assemblies issued in terms of the Elections Act 2017 and the omissions therein when compared with such nomination forms issued in terms of the Representation of the People Act, 1976 (RoPA) [since repealed] required interpretation of different provisions of the Constitution, including Articles 62, 63 and 218 to 222.

The court observed that the information which had been omitted from the nomination papers would facilitate determination of the qualification or disqualification of a candidate and would lead to greater transparency regarding the credentials of a candidate facilitating the electorate in making a more informative choice.

On a court query, Mr Hamid said that neither the speaker nor the political party he belonged to had any objection to the disclosure of additional information.

However, as per the counsel’s contentions, the court order said, some of the information previously required in the nomination forms was not really necessary. But when the court examined each and every omitted clause of the nomination forms issued under RoPA 1976, the counsel could not convinced the court that such disclosure in any manner would prejudice any candidate.

As an interim measure, the court said, it believed that such additional information, which was required to be disclosed through the nomination papers and forms under RoPA and now omitted through the nomination papers contemplated by the Elections Act 2017, must be disclosed by a candidate. Such disclosure was necessary to ensure the sanctity and integrity of the general elections 2018, the court observed.

The key missing information which will now be provided by the candidates through the affidavit along with the nomination forms includes declaration about loan of two million or more, information about loans written off by them or their spouses from any bank, any government dues outstanding against them in excess of Rs10,000 for over six months, details of business or firm owned by their spouses or dependents.

Similarly, no case of criminal offences should be pending against the candidates for the last six months. They are also required to submit their educational qualification, present occupation, passport number, tax number, income tax paid during the last three assessment years, total income, source of income, etc. The candidates will also provide travel details of the past three years and the cost incurred and period of stay.

The affidavit seeks details about agriculture income and tax paid, land holding, etc, as well as information about dual nationality and the net asset of the candidates.

Legal observers believe that whatever had been excluded by parliament from the nomination forms through the Elections Act has now been resurrected again under the Supreme Court order through the information being sought in the affidavit which the candidates have to provide while filing the nomination forms.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2018