News
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
ECP bound to prepare electoral lists yearly: CJP* Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry says elections should be free and fair
* ECP informs court it will be very expensive to give overseas Pakistanis right to vote
By Hasnaat Malik
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday held that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was bound to prepare electoral lists yearly while under Article 218 (3) elections had to be held free, fair and justly in accordance with law.
Appearing on a notice, ECP Joint Secretary Sher Afgan told the four-member bench, headed by Justice Chaudhry, that problems were being faced while giving the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis, as it was very costly. He said that registering a voter within the country costs two dollars, while registration of one vote of an overseas Pakistani would cost $30. He said that the facility of postal ballots was confined to the country, adding that the right to cast vote was limited even in the most democratic developed countries.
The joint secretary stated that presently the right of postal ballot was only given to the public servants who, during the time of elections, used to render their duties outside their constituencies.
He said the issue of right to vote to overseas Pakistanis has existed for the last 30 years and it was taken up in to cabinet meeting during Nawaz Sharif’s government, but was dropped later on. He said the ECP would have to bear extra expenditures if such an exercise was conducted abroad.
The court, however, directed the ECP as well as the counsel for the petitioner to examine the modalities whether overseas Pakistanis could exercise their right to vote in the elections, analyse the matter in light of the experience of other countries and submit a report by February 6.
The bench was hearing a petition, filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan seeking to ensure right to vote to overseas Pakistanis in the next elections.
During the hearing, the chief justice told the ECP and NADRA officials that under Article 219, the ECP was bound to prepare electoral lists yearly while under Article 218 (3) elections had be to held free, fair and justly in accordance with law.
He said the idea of providing an opportunity to overseas Pakistanis to exercise their voting right was good, however, it would have to be seen that the entire election process was not be affected due to this matter. The CJP said that mala fide practice must be avoided, ensuring the matter in a most transparent manner.
“You have to complete the exercise without being influenced from outside,” the chief justice told the NADRA counsel, Afnan Kundi, adding that the orders of the courts could not be flouted in this manner.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk