Islamabad -  Experts at a roundtable held by PILDAT on Tuesday maintained that Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is as independent and powerful as the Election Commission of India, but it lacks capacity to ensure transparency, fairness and credibility that are critical for democratic continuity in the country.
The panellists recognised that transparency, fairness and right to information are crucial to the functioning of the ECP and it must make efforts to reform its complaint redressal mechanisms, while the Representation of the People Act of 1976 should be improved to ensure effective time-bound mechanisms for dealing with pre-election and post-election complaints. Provisions can be made in the Representation of the People Act to establish a real efficient monitoring cell at the ECP Headquarters in order to collect information for the purpose of scrutiny of nomination papers by returning officers, election campaigns, polling day, and post-election matters.
Dr SY Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Hasan Muhammad, former Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan, also spoke at the roundtable discussion.
The panellists were Shahid Hamid, senior advocate of Supreme Court and former governor Punjab, and Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani, chairman of Gallup Pakistan. JP Singh, deputy high commissioner of India to Pakistan, and Wazir Ahmed Khan Jogazai, former deputy speaker National Assembly of Pakistan, were also present at the roundtable.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Quraishi said that the ECI has so far conducted 16 national level elections and 360 state level elections. It has never missed a deadline for conducting elections, and trust in the ECI has increased over time. The integrity and intentions of the ECI have never been doubted even though India is the most complex, diverse and multi-faceted country. Mainly because the electoral process in India is inclusive with universal and equal voting rights for both women and men is ensured, giving equal access to physically handicapped people. With 834 million registered voters, 11 million voting staff, all government servants along with 8,000 candidates make the elections in India the largest elections of the world.
Dr Quraishi emphasised the sanctity of vote and stressed that every vote counts and is not to be taken for granted. The key is to raise the bar for improving elections every time. For instance, in the past, there were a lot of murders and other crimes during the elections. This was very seriously addressed by strict enforcement of law and vigilance. The most significant aspect is that the census is conducted periodically and hence the delimitations are carried out after every census. Electoral rolls are maintained and updated regularly. To ensure the neutrality and impartiality of the polling, the staff is mobilised and randomised. The key the ECI’s ability to enforce the laws and powers granted by the constitution and under the laws.
Hasan Muhammad added that the procedure and the legal regime in Pakistan are transparent; however there are some gaps in implementation and execution. The Election Commission of Pakistan has performed commendably under the circumstance when there were many incidents of terrorism. Certain aspects of the General Election 2013 could have been better, for instance, in certain areas the polling did not even start by 2:00am, though it is supposed to start at 8:00am, especially in Karachi and some places in Balochistan. Rather than increasing the time for voting, voting at those polling stations could have been postponed. The selection and training of the polling staff was done with due diligence.
Hasan Muhammad recommended a series of electoral reforms, especially the adoption of electronic voting technology. The chief election commissioner should be selected from amongst the retired civil servants who have credibility and integrity. The most critical aspect to ensure transparency in elections is the effective implementation of right to information.
Shahid Hamid gave a legal perspective and said that the ECP and Supreme Court are at par, as both are given the same powers under the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. Once the elections are announced the ECP can take over the administration just as in India for they have this authority under the constitution.
In the historical context, the performance of the ECP has been satisfactory, with some exceptions of a few constituencies where there were cases of rigging; however majority of the previous elections were transparent.
Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani said that the trust and credibility of the ECI gives it a moral power, which makes it effective and efficient. On the other hand a self-imposed discipline amongst the politicians is something that can improve the overall electoral process, as is the case of India. On the other hand in Pakistan the ECP has not been able to inspire trust amongst citizens; therefore it has not been able to perform as effectively and efficiently as is needed.
The roundtable was attended by a large number of MNAs and civil society representatives.