“The election commission should have been an independent body in Pakistan, like it is in Bangladesh,” former election commission secretary Kanwar Dilshad said on Monday.
Dilshad was talking to media people at Bahawalpur Press Club. He said the commission should be empowered to take binding decisions with regard to elections. He also demanded the creation of more provinces on administrative basis, and the ‘restoration’ of Bahawalpur province. He said the 18th Amendment had stripped the chief election commissioner of all powers. Dilshad said in 2008, the election commission had stopped using judicial officers for election duty. However, the Supreme Court intervened and appointed returning officers from the judiciary. He said many returning officers had failed to comply with Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
“The election system of Bangladesh is the best [in this region],” Dilshad said. The voters are truly empowered…the ballot papers carry an additional box, which is checked, means that the voter thought none of the candidates worthy of his or her vote, he said.
If that box is checked in 40 per cent of the ballots cast in an area, the candidates are disqualified from participation for the next five years, said Dilshad.
Dilshad said candidates should be required to open a separate bank account for electoral expenses…this way they can submit accurate details of campaign expenses to the Election Commission. In India, once the election commission issues a schedule for elections, no court can stop it, Dilshad said. If the schedule needs to be changed, the election commission deals with the matter. He said the ECP should be independent and there should be no interference from the courts. In 2013, the then chief justice had addressed returning officers and written letters to them which he should not have done. Dilshad said the Bahawalpur province must be restored in recognition of the sacrifices of the Nawab of Bahawalpur.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2014.