ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Irshad Hasan Khan said on Tuesday that he would relinquish his office on Jan 15 after completing three years in office.
"On the completion of three years on Jan 15, 2005, I will relinquish the charge of the office and move to Lahore to enjoy retirement," he said while speaking at a meeting of officers and staff of the Election Commission here.
The CEC said that arrangements had been made and necessary instructions had been issued to the authorities concerned for the holding of the forthcoming local bodies' elections in a proper manner.
The schedule for the LB polls was ready and would be issued at an appropriate time, he added. The chief election commissioner asked the Election Commission staff to play an effective role in ensuring that the polls were held in a transparent and professional manner.
Justice Irshad said he was appointed chief justice in view of his seniority when the military took over on October 12, 1999. By a unanimous judgment the Supreme Court validated the military take over on the grounds of state survival and the conditions prevailing in the country at that time, he said.
The decision was taken to protect the country's judicial system and to keep the doors open for the return of democracy, he said. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the Supreme Court had given a military government a three-year timeframe to restore democracy, he added.
About his appointment as the CEC, Justice Irshad said that initially he was reluctant to accept the offer to execute the order he himself had given as the Supreme Court chief justice. But he was persuaded by friends who told him that by accepting the job he would have a unique opportunity to help restore democracy in Pakistan. Justice Irshad said he assumed the CEC office at a time when the country was passing through a turbulent era.
The Political Parties Order, 2002, and the time-limit it imposed on parties to hold party elections, if strictly implemented, would have created a situation in which neither of the two main political parties, which had split shortly before the elections, could have been legally allowed to contest the polls. But that would have rendered the elections meaningless, he added. The Election Commission under his chairmanship liberally interpreted the provisions of the PPO to help restore democracy, he explained.
Justice Irshad said he also opposed the holding of elections on non-party basis and supervision of party elections under the PPO. Ever since his appointment, he said, he had been facing one challenge or the other and at times it seemed that not a single political party, including the ruling party, appreciated him because he followed the constitution, the law and the rules.
"My actions did not suit everyone," the CEC said, adding that if a party won it said that election had been fair, but if it lost it claimed that elections had been rigged.
An election commissioner became accustomed to criticism of that sort, he said and added that in any event he had played his innings and it would be for his successor to take effective steps to hold polls independently and in a transparent manner.
The CEC recalled that in the draft Legal Framework Order, the CEC's tenure had been fixed at five years but at his initiative the proposal was dropped as it would have directly benefited him to which he did not agree.
About the Federal Election Academy, he said it was established by him to ensure continuous reorientation of the officers and staff of the commission regarding electoral laws and procedures, for developing effective communication skills, building confidence, training and planning to initiate public awareness campaigns and ways and means to develop close cooperation with local administration and political parties without jeopardizing the independence of the commission.
The Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had described the academy as useful and beneficial for strengthening electoral and democratic processes in Pakistan, he said.
"During my last visit to India, the Indian CEC said that on the pattern of FEA, the Election Commission of India would also establish an academy in their secretariat," he said.
