he Election Commission of Pakistan has remained tightlipped since the February 8 general election results amid allegations of mismanagement and electoral tampering in an already volatile political climate. The commission’s initial statement – seeking clarity – following the SC verdict in the reserved seats case, was seen by many as a sign that it intended to perpetuate political uncertainty.

The ECP has been accused of mismanagement in the recent general elections. The allegations include targeting the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to curtail its parliamentary presence. The commission is now required to implement the SC verdict.

Over the last year, the ECP has questioned the credibility of intra-party elections in the PTI; stripped the party of its electoral symbol; and refused to process the party’s nominations. After the notification of electoral results, the commission refused to award reserved seats to the party. This forced the party’s returned candidates to join another party. Later, the matter was taken to the court.

On July 12, a 13-judge bench of the Supreme Court declared that the PTI was a parliamentary party eligible to receive it share of seats reserved for women and religious minorities. It also said that the ECP had misinterpreted the Supreme Court’s January verdict.

In an official statement issued last week the commission announced that it would implement the Supreme Court verdict with regard to the reserved seats. It had earlier said that its legal team would consult the court with regard to a possible confusion. “Instructions were issued to the legal team of the election commission that if there was any obstacle in the implementation of the decision of the Supreme Court, then it should immediately identify it so that the court can be referred for further guidance.”

The ECP statement categorically rejected the allegations of bias against it. The commission claimed that it had not misinterpreted the January 13 verdict of the Supreme Court. The commission pointed out that the returned candidates had declared themselves independent in their nomination papers. It said that 39 lawmakers declared PTI members by the court had indicated their affiliation with the party in their nomination papers, it was necessary to submit the party ticket and a declaration to the returning officer to be a candidate of the party. It said the candidates had not done so. “The 41 candidates who have been declared independent have neither mentioned the PTI in their nomination papers nor disclosed their party affiliation or submitted the party ticket.” It also pointed out that the PTI was not a party to the proceedings at any stage in the reserved seats case.

“The ECP has been in the midst of controversy since before the general elections. Now it appears that the commission wants to create doubts about the Supreme Court’s verdict by using delaying tactics rather than implementing it,” says Ahmed Bilal Mehboob of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency.

“The ECP has been in the midst of controversy since before the general elections. Now it appears that the commission wants to create doubts about the Supreme Court verdict by using delaying tactics rather than implementing it,” Ahmed Bilal Mehboob of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency says. He says there should have been no reluctance in implementing the verdict. Mehboob says that the ECP press release clearly indicates that the commission wants to contest the verdict. “We can say that battle lines have been drawn between two constitutional forums. We will have to wait and see what happens next.” The efforts are on to delay the implementation of the verdict, he adds.

“The reaction of the ECP to the current Supreme Court verdict suggests that it wants to challenge the proportional representation provision of the constitution,” legal expert Asad Rahim says.

The ECP had assigned these reserved seats to other parties. This resulted in a two-thirds majority for the ruling alliance, making it possible for them to amend the constitution.

The PTI has called the ECP statement “a pack of contradictions and a blatant attempt to make the court’s decision ineffective.”

The ruling alliance has also been perturbed by the verdict. Some of its leaders have verbally attacked the judges who have ruled in favour of the PTI. The ruling parties – the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party – have also filed review petitions against the verdict. All eyes are now on the Supreme Court.

The writer is a staff member. He can be reached at vaqargillanigmail.com. He tweets at @waqargillani