ECP calls for detailed probe into RTS failure

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission Monday called for a comprehensive inquiry to find out as to why the result transmission system (RTS) failed during 2018 general election.

The call came during the Election Commission meeting here, which was attended by members, ECP Secretary Zafar Iqbal Hussain, Chairman National Database and Registration Authority Usman Yousaf Mobin and other senior officers.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commission Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, deliberated upon the payments in the context of entries based on issuance of new CNICs and other data vis-à-vis the Elections Act, 2017 and its (Section 25) as well as the agreement signed between the Election Commission and Nadra.

The Nadra chairman and other officials briefed the Commission about the use of result transmission system and related matters like legal, technical, administrative, telecom and other difficulties.

During the briefing on this much-discussed matter both inside and outside Parliament, the Commission expressed extreme displeasure and decided that there should be a comprehensive inquiry on the failure of the RTS system so that it could be found out how and why this system failed, and in the light of these findings such occurrence be averted in future.

The Nadra took the stance that it not only provided data on the CNIC holders to the Election Commission, but also included its technical services as well as manpower. He maintained that the authority was self-reliant and received no funding from the federal government and hence it deserved to be paid for the services.

On the contrary, Election Commission senior officers contended that Section 25 of the Elections Act, 2017 and the relevant rules had made it binding on the Authority to provide data of CNIC holders to the Election Commission and, therefore, it should not be paid in this context.

To this, the Election Commission after hearing viewpoints of the Nadra and the Commission official, decided to take a decision thereon in a separate meeting.