ISLAMABAD - After receiving much criticism from political, social and journalistic circles for proceeding to hold the upcoming by-polls on the unverified voter lists, better sense stands to have finally prevailed following the Election Commission’s announcement to hold these polls in pursuance of the apex court order regarding fresh electoral rolls.
Consequently, the by-elections on ten parliamentary constituencies including those of six National Assembly and four Provincial Assemblies’ constituencies would be held on February 25. The polls on five National Assembly and a Punjab Assembly seats were earlier scheduled on February 20. They included NA-9 Mardan-I, NA-140 Kasur-III, NA- 148 Multan-I, NA-149 Multan- II, NA-195 Rahim Yar Khan-IV and Punjab Assembly’s PP-44 Mianwali-II. The by-election on Sindh Assembly’s constituency PS-57 Badin-I was previously scheduled on February 15 and that of Punjab Assembly’s seat PP-18 Attock IV on February 6. In addition, the by-elections schedule announced on Friday on the two constituencies, one each of NA and PS where elections would be held on February 25 included NA-168 Vehari II and PS- 53 Tando Muhammad Khan.
Perhaps, having realised that joining hands with government forces and pick warpath with the SC would amount to being a futile skin saving exercise, the ECP would reportedly hold the by-polls on the aforesaid constituencies on the new electoral rolls, ER 2011 that would be updated for the upcoming polls on priority basis.
During a hearing on the existing unverified voter lists case, the Supreme Court on January 19, 2012 had cited ECP’s constitutional and legal obligations to hold by-polls on the Electoral Rolls 2011 whose preparation the EC had started back in November 2009. Despite the lapse of more than two years, the Election Commission, after spending millions of rupees on publicising ER 2011, had failed to form the electoral rolls that were supposed to be ready by December last year. The ECP then committed before the SC to getting the ER 2011 prepared by February 23 but backtracked from this claim requesting the apex court to grant more time till May 25. The SC expressed due annoyance over the evident slackness of ECP officials and refused to grant any extension in deadline. Instead of complying with the SC orders, the visibly confused yet seemingly incompetent ECP management acted in defiance after the Election Commission held a “consultative meeting” with the political parties on the pretext of “discussing” electoral issues on January 23. It was only after the Secretary ECP Ishtiak Ahmed Khan and Chief Election Commissioner Justice (Retd) Hamid Ali Mirza used audibly contemptuous language concerning the SC, was it transpired that the sole motive of the meeting was to ally with the government and pro-government political forces against SC. Ignoring the SC orders, the EC management announced to get the ER 2011 ready by May 25 and termed the SC decision on by-polls as “unconstitutional”. This prompted the apex court to clarify that it was well within the court’s mandate to interpret constitution whose provisions clearly bounded the EC to update its electoral rolls annually and conduct of any by-polls without updating the lists was therefore against the constitution. 
Moreover, even the top leaders of pro-government parties like Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League Qauid-e-Azam (PML-Q) say that they would not become part of any move that aimed at breaching the SC sanctity.
Last week, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, while speaking with this scribe, had said, “I never said ECP did a remarkable job by showing negligence in preparing ER 2011 in time. We simply want transparent elections. If found guilty, they (ECP officials) must be proceeded against. The related case is in the SC and it’s up to the learned court to decide about their fate. We would fully respect court’s decision.”
PML-Q MNA Amir Muqam said that ECP’s performance on electoral affairs was already questionable while its unjustified stance for delay in voter lists further put its credibility at stake. “It’s beyond the mandate of ECP to start acting in revolt against Pakistan’s supreme judicial organ, the SC. Politicising this issue instead of accepting in good grace the SC order to prepare ER 2011 by February 23 has challenged the impartiality of the Election Commission. I have serious reservations if the incumbent ECP management is really capable of holding free and fair elections,” he told TheNation.

ECP defers
by-polls for five days