ISLAMABAD - All four members of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday shunning political pressure, refused to resign.
After a three-hour long informal meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (r) Sardar Raza Khan it was decided that the members will not give in to the pressure of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI).
The meeting decided that since the lawyer’s of PTI have already filed a reference in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) under Article 209 of the Constitution they will wait for the competent forum to decide matter.
“Therefore, the concerned members would not take any decision about their resignations till the final decision of SJC,” some minutes of the meeting shared with media revealed.
Chairman PTI Imran Khan had threatened to stage a sit-in if the four ECP members did not tender resignations for not ensuring a transparent election in 2013. He demanded the member to step down before the by-elections in some National Assembly constituencies and upcoming Local Government (LG) elections.
The PPP also wants the members to resign. They demanded the members to step down before the completion of their tenures in June 2016.
ECP officials told The Nation that two members — Punjab and Sindh — were under immense pressure to step down adding PTI was likely to boycott local bodies polls and by-elections in Punjab in case the Punjab member Justice (r) Riaz Kiani sticks to his post.
Interestingly, ECP members in a statement said that they would not resign voluntarily as they have been ridiculed and ‘stigmatized’ with false allegations.
The meeting according to sources discussed in detail the allegations leveled against the provincial members. “We have not committed any blunder. Why should we resign? If anybody has solid proofs against us, he/she should approach the SJC,” a source quoted one provincial member as informing the CEC.
“If we tender resignation under pressure, the negative perception against ECP would strengthen. No member would resign at ‘gunpoint’,” the source privy to the development said.
Rumours about voluntary resignations of the provincial members of ECP continued to prevail in Islamabad especially when PPP threw their weight behind PTI.
By law, a member of ECP can be disqualified in case a petitioner moves SJC by bringing solid evidences against a member involved in malpractices.
In a notification, the ECP said that elections in NA-122 and NA-154 would take place on 11th October. The ECP said that nomination papers for both by-elections would be accepted on September 10 and 11.
PTI confirms ECP resignation rally on 4th Sep
The Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) on Monday officially announced a protest rally to be held at D-Chowk on September 4 demanding resignations of ECP members. Earlier, PTI chief Imran Khan demanded resignations in what he called failure to hold free and fair elections in 2013. During the one-day protest rally, PTI chief Imran Khan is expected to announce a new plan of action in case resignations were not tendered. PTI's additional secretary information Faisal Javed Khan said that the situation seems to be heading towards another sit-in.