Election official questions key appointments in ECP

ISLAMABAD: A district election commissioner (DEC) has challenged some key appointments in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

In a letter to the ECP through the provincial commissioner, DEC Faisalabad Irfan Kausar alleged that these appointments had been made “unlawfully.” Irfan has also written a letter to President Arif Alvi, inviting his attention towards these appointments made in what he calls the absence of service rules.

Irfan Kausar, who had made headlines in the media when he rejected PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s nomination papers during NA-108 (Faisalabad) by-polls in August 2022, has written to the ECP secretary and expressed his intention to follow another ECP officer i.e. the Regional Election Commissioner, Kohat, Adnan Bashir, who had filed a reference with the SJC a few months back, targeting the chief election commissioner.

In a letter to the ECP Secretary, a copy of which is available with The News, Irfan has sought various documents including a statement of assets and liabilities furnished by Sikandar Sultan Raja.

In a letter to the President, Chairman Senate, NA Speaker and the members of the Parliament, he contended that with regard to parliamentary oversight relating to employment in the Election Commission of Pakistan, Article 221 merits consideration, as the original Article after the promulgation of the Constitution reads ‘until Parliament by law otherwise provides, the Commissioner may, with the approval of the president, make rules providing for the appointment by the Commissioner of Officers and servants to be employed in connection with the functions of the Commissioner or an Election Commission and for their terms and conditions of employment’.

He insists the Constitution requires the parliament to frame a law, yet no such legislation has been enacted so far. He recalled the then CEC made service rules in 1989 after approval by the President that remained enacted until the promulgation of the eighteen Amendment to the Constitution.

He cited that the Worker’s Party case Judgment and General Elections 2013 Inquiry Commission Report rightly pointed out grey areas to be addressed by the ECP. The ECP officer highlighted that previously only serving PAS Officers used to be appointed in ECP and that too remained restricted to the post of Secretary, whereas the secretaries, in the past, relied upon the strength of ECP and endeavored to further enhance its capacity.

The above-referred judgment and report though mostly highlighted policy arenas within the commission resulted on one hand in the creation of new wings and on the other hand, the weakening of organizational hierarchy.

Referring to appointments of appointing outsiders for administrative posts, Irfan said, “Even if a contentious framework of 1989 rules is considered to be in vogue that too leaves its validity after the 22nd Amendment,” adding the commissioner has been running administrative affairs of ECP using outdated rules of 1989 and making amendments without even getting approval from the President which is a mandatory requirement of those rules while notified service rules do not exist now.

Irfan said the Commissioner was the sole administrative authority without the oversight of the Commission in the absence of the service rules.

Irfan alleged that the mid-career ECP cadre

Officers are being

promoted arbitrarily, and said that either the President should direct the authorities concerned to submit a draft of ECP service rules or the Chairman Senate and the Speaker, National Assembly direct the relevant committees to take up the matter for legislation.

When this correspondent sought comment

from the commission on these letters, a senior official, on condition of anonymity, dismissed the allegations and

billed these letters as political motivated in a murky environment related to politics and future

elections.

“Instead of going here and there, one should approach the right forum to have grievances redressed.

An official of the commission must know well the standard operating procedure in case of grievances.

It may also be noted that he (Irfan) has been silent for four-five months and now all of a sudden, has come up with barrage of allegations,” he maintained.

The official believed the matter could be a media stunt and that it might not be worthy of being put before the Election Commission.