ISLAMABAD - With adhoc-ism ruling the roost at the Election Commission of Pakistan, the electoral body is unlikely to achieve the already delayed target of getting the new voter lists ready by next week as the deadline to this effect expires on next Wednesday (May 23).While the appointment of the chief election commissioner may take extensive rounds of deliberations before the related parliamentary committee formed in this regard finalises its choice, the government’s visible reluctance to fill in the vacant slots of secretary and additional secretary ECP, the electoral body’s two top administrative slots, keep the future of Electoral Rolls 2011 preparation drive marked with uncertainty coupled with the Commission’s alleged inability to accomplish the much belated task despite high sounding claims.The ECP’s seemingly negligent attitude towards preparing the flawless and sophisticated voter lists carrying some 80 million voters’ data has been well reprimanded by the apex court that has categorically expressed displeasure and dissatisfaction over the Commission’s slackness over its failure to meet the previous deadlines. The last deadline ECP had set for having the ER 2011 readied is the coming May 23. The electoral body’s non-compliance with the court orders to get the new voter lists prepared at the earliest, even after spending huge sum and resources from the national exchequer, had not only attracted due annoyance of the Supreme Court but it received severe criticism from the opposition parties and media as well. This probably had prompted the former Secretary ECP Ishtiak Ahmed Khan to step down in March this year on the apparent pretext of his reported ‘differences’ with the then Chief Election Commissioner Justice (r) Hamid Ali Mirza on certain election-related matters. Mirza stood retired in the same month (March). Additional Secretary ECP Akhtar Hussain Sabir, who was handed the charge of the Commission’s acting secretary, also reached the age of superannuation earlier this month. Acting CEC Justice Shakirullah Jan manages the ECP affairs till regular appointment for filling in the vacant CEC slot is made.According to a senior ECP official, the existing scenario has virtually stalled all the related progress on the ER 2011 preparation. Presently, the electoral body has engaged 14 regional election commissioners (RECs), 70 district election commissioner (DECs) and 68 assistant election commissioners across Pakistan to directly oversee the preparation of ER 2011 while the four members election commission (MECs) monitor exercise for the removal of reported anomalies and irregularities in thousands of Preliminary Electoral Rolls (PERs) the ECP had displayed from last February 29 till March 20. The RECs, DECs and AECs, directly report to the provincial election commissioners (PECs) who send regular progress reports in the ECP where secretary ECP evaluates them and issues instructions accordingly. In the absence of the Commission’s administrative head (secretary), all the necessary instructions on ER 2011 preparation drive in particular and the Commission’s day-to-day governance affairs in general remain pending and await passage, reportedly.On one hand the deadline for Electoral Rolls 2011 nears while on the other hand the Election Commission has still not corrected the irregular PERs. Moreover, the Acting CEC Justice Shakirullah Jan, being an incumbent SC judge, is already constrained with his engagements at the Apex Court while the ECP’s sorry state of affairs demand undivided attention for redressal.The ER 2011 were supposed to be ready and introduced in November last year. However, the Election Commission cited different pretexts including last year’s monsoon floods, problems pertaining to delimitation of electoral constituencies and security situation in some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as pertinent factors to delay the preparation drive. The ECP then reiterated to prepare ER 2011 by February 23, 2012. However in January, after a controversial ‘consultation’ meeting with the political parties, the Commission picked the line of defiance against the SC instructions and announced to complete the new voter lists by May 23 despite that the Court had declined extension in the February 23 deadline.