Terminate service of political appointees, ECP asks interim govts

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday asked the interim governments to immediately terminate the services of all heads of institutions appointed on a political basis.

The ECP issued guidelines to the interim governments in the Centre and provinces, urging them to assist it in holding polls in accordance with the Constitution.

Meanwhile, the ECP got all the census results from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). A senior ECP official confirmed to The News that the PBS had shared all the related data and other details with the electoral body, which it awaited to deliberate on to thrashing out a timeline for delimitation of constituencies, following the approval of digital census a few days back.

Ostensibly, the commission is set to miss the constitutionally-mandated timeline of conduct of general elections within 90 days, as it needs three months to delimit constituencies of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies and then another month to address complaints and related issues.

The ECP is meeting today (Wednesday) to possibly announce the timeline for the delimitation of constituencies and constitute committees for the purpose.

The approval of the digital census by the Council of Common Interests on August 05 makes it mandatory on the ECP to delimit the constituencies afresh.

The instructions were issued through a notification, which are being a seen as a significant indication of its activities towards the conduct of general elections in the country.

The interim governments have been instructed to ensure that the former prime minister and his advisers, former chief ministers along with their advisers, former federal and provincial ministers and former MNAs and former Sindh and Balochistan MPAs vacate their residential facilities provided by the government while official vehicles provided to them are also withdrawn.

The interim governments shall perform their functions and attend to day-to-day matters that are necessary to run the affairs of the Federation and provinces in accordance with the law.

“The caretaker governments shall not attempt to influence the elections or do or cause to be done anything which may, in any manner, influence or adversely affect free and fair elections,” it reads.

The commission has emphasised that the interim governments have been asked to assist the electoral body in holding elections in line with the law, as provided under Section 230(1)(b) of the Elections Act 2017, and to ensure compliance with all notifications, directives and provisions of Section 230 of the election law, relating to the functions of an interim government.

The Section 230 of the act has been under scrutiny and debate in parliament as well as on the media after an amendment to it was proposed to give additional powers to caretaker governments. The amendment has granted the caretaker government powers to take actions or decisions on the existing bilateral or multilateral agreements and projects.

The ECP has asked the caretaker governments not to post or transfer any public official after the issuance of this notification under the federal and provincial governments without the commission’s prior approval in writing, and to ensure that all kinds of recruitments in any ministry, division, department or institution under the federal, provincial and local government(s) are banned with immediate effect, except with the prior approval of the ECP, and except recruitments by the federal and provincial public service commissions and those government organisations where test/ interviews had already been conducted.

The notification has barred the interim governments from announcing or executing any kind of development schemes at federal and provincial levels except those which are ongoing and approved before the issuance of this notification. Moreover, the federal, provincial and local governments shall not issue tenders of such schemes till the culmination of general elections and except with the prior approval of ECP.

The commission said that all development funds relating to local government institutions in provinces and cantonment boards for new schemes throughout the country stood frozen after the announcement of the election schedule with immediate effect and their status would remain unchanged until the announcement of election results. However, in case of any vital scheme, the case may be referred to the ECP for approval.

The interim governments have also been directed to ensure the immediate termination of services of all heads of the institutions appointed on a political basis and to send all such cases to the commission for the approval of termination or otherwise. The dignitaries would be provided security/ protocol as per their entitlement and any extra deployment of security/ protocol should be withdrawn from them forthwith.

The ECP said that the caretaker governments, being non-political entities, can take actions or decisions regarding existing bilateral or multilateral agreements or the projects already initiated under the Public Private Partnership Authority Act 2017, the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act 2022 and the Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000 under intimation to the commission.

The electoral body has directed the caretaker prime minister, chief ministers or ministers or any other members of caretaker governments to “submit to the ECP a statement of assets and liabilities of their spouses and dependent children as on the preceding 30th day of June on Form-B” within three days from the date of assumption of office.

The notification explains that the ECP is mandated with the constitutional duty to organise and conduct elections in terms of Article 218(3) of the Constitution and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the elections are conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with the law and that corrupt practices are guarded against. “It has become imperative that the Election Commission shall take all necessary steps under the Constitution and prevalent law for the smooth conduct of general elections and to ensure transparent elections and a level playing field for all contesting candidates and political parties,” the electoral body said.