• Shafqat says commission failed in its duty during Senate polls
• Maryam terms demand an attack on institutions
• PPP says ministers’ call based on mala fide intentions

ISLAMABAD: Still fuming over its defeat at the hands of opposition in the March 3 Senate poll on a general seat from Islamabad, the government has called for the resignation of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and all the four members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over their alleged failure in ensuring transparency in the Senate elections.

“There is no option left now. The election commission cannot continue to function in its current state. The ECP [members] should collectively resign,” said federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood at a news conference on Monday.

The minister, however, stated that the government had no intention to file any reference for the removal of the CEC and the ECP members and just wanted to give a “political response and solution” to the issue.

On the other hand, the opposition parties, which had only recently been criticising the ECP over the delay in the hearing of the foreign funding case against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and had even held a demonstration outside the commission’s main office, came out in the ECP’s defence, terming the ministers’ demand “unconstitutional and illegal” and an act of revenge over the Commission’s role in the Daska by-election. The opposition alleges that the government is intentionally weakening the state institutions one by one.

The government and the ECP have been at loggerheads after the latter decided to hold the March 3 Senate poll through secret ballot after the SC ruling because of what it called time constraints.

A day after the defeat of Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh in the hotly-contested election on a general seat from Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation had lashed out at the ECP and accused it of “damaging democracy”.

In response to the PM’s remarks, the ECP came out with a rare response in which it not only rebuked the PTI for being upset over its defeat in the election and asked the party leadership to stop mudslinging against institutions.

Flanked by federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz and Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Mr Mehmood at the news conference alleged that the ECP did not take any action despite a clear ruling by the Supreme Court regarding its constitutional responsibility to ensure transparency in the Senate polls in accordance with Article 218(3) of the Constitution.

Then the minister read out the said article which says that “it shall be the duty of the Election Commission to organise and conduct the election and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law, and that corrupt practices are guarded against”.

Emphasising the last part of the constitutional clause, the minister regretted that the ECP had failed to fulfil its responsibilities despite the fact that there were clear evidences of corruption and use of money in the Senate elections.

The minister was of the view that after the Senate polls, the ECP had lost the confidence of the political parties and the people of Pakistan. He said the PTI was the biggest party having majority in both the houses of parliament and it had lost its trust in the ECP. The other parties, he said, were also seen complaining against the ECP.

“No political party is happy with the ECP. Everyone is criticising it. Is there anyone who’s saying the election was conducted properly?” the minister asked.

Mr Mehmood said the whole nation saw what happened in the election on the Senate seat from Islamabad for which polling was held in the National Assembly. He said that opposition’s candidate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani secured 169 votes against the government nominee Hafeez Shaikh’s 164 votes. And soon after, in the election on the women seat, the ruling party candidate bagged 174 votes against the opposition’s candidate’s 164 votes.

“It is clearly evident that corrupt practices took place. A give and take had happened. And then came the videos showing people talking about money,” he said, adding that in one of the videos, a Sindh minister had been shown saying that “the rate can be increased from Rs50 million to Rs10 million.” Mr Mehmood said the recent Senate polls had “reinforced, validated and vindicated” the stance taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had always advocated for the use of open ballot in the Senate elections to end the corrupt practices and the use of money.

For this purpose, he said, the government first introduced a bill and then brought a constitutional amendment in the National Assembly. Besides, he said, the government also filed a reference before the apex court seeking its ruling whether the Senate elections could be conducted through an open ballot without carrying out an amendment to the Constitution.

“The Supreme Court’s decision was exactly in accordance with the situation. They said a constitutional amendment is necessary to change the mode of voting,” the minister said. However, he said the SC had also stated that it was the ECP’s responsibility to conduct free and fair elections that were not marred by corruption, as requited in Article 218(3) of the Constitution.

The minister recalled that soon after the court’s verdict, a PTI delegation met the CEC and the ECP members with a request that it should make the ballots traceable while maintaining secrecy in light of the SC decision.

“Regretfully, it (the proposal) was rejected and a committee was formed to take the measure in future elections,” he added.

He alleged that it was due to lack of action by the ECP that “corrupt practices” took place in the election on the Senate general seat from Islamabad.

“Therefore, the CEC (Raja Sikandar Sultan) and ECP members should submit their resignations to provide an opportunity to parliament to constitute a new commission,” he said, adding that it was a democratic way and for the betterment of the future of the country and democracy.

Mr Mehmood said that PTI was the only party which took action against its members who had allegedly sold their votes in the 2018 Senate polls.

“We want the ECP to play the role of a neutral umpire, which it is not doing,” he said, recalling that it was Imran Khan who had brought neutral umpires in the international cricket.

Opposition’s reaction

Speaking at a news conference after attending a consultative meeting of the party which was presided over by party’s supremo Nawaz Sharif through video link from London, PML-N’s vice president Maryam Nawaz termed the government’s demand for the ECP’s resignation an attack on the country’s institutions.

She said the government had always slammed the PML-N for its criticism of the state institutions, but today the whole nation had understood the difference between “criticising the institutions and attacking the institutions”.

Ms Nawaz alleged that the government was upset over its defeat in the recent by-polls in Daska, Wazirabad, Nowshera and Sindh and venting its anger on the ECP.

She regretted that instead of apologising to the ECP over the abduction of 20 presiding officers in the Daska by-poll, the government had launched a tirade against the ECP.

Earlier, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi termed the press conference of the federal ministers an “unusual event”, saying it was surprising that the government of the day was demanding the ECP officials’ resignation.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secretary general Nayyer Bukhari in a statement said the government’s demand for the ECP’s resignation was based on “mala fide intentions and victimisation”.

Condemning the demand, Mr Bukhari termed it “laughable and beyond logic”.

“This proves that the selected government wants selected institutions. This demand is an effort to pressurise the ECP. If the government has any reservations then legal and constitutional remedies are available,” he said.

He said the PPP stood with the ECP regarding all legal and constitutional issues.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2021