ISLAMABAD: Member Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from Punjab retired Justice Riaz Kayani on Monday rejected as a brazen lie the remarks attributed to him by PML Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed that the returning officers (ROs) were directly reporting to the then chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry during the 2013 elections.

“The comment is far from truth and I with all force at my command disown it.”

Mr Kayani said he respected Mr Hussain for his neutrality and independent views he frequently articulated, but was shocked to read his comments that he (Kayani) had disclosed to him and the PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain during a meeting with the ECP members that the ROs directly reported to the chief justice and were not under the control of the ECP.

Talking to Dawn, he confirmed that one or two meetings with Chaudhry Shujaat and Mushahid Hussain were held after the 2013 elections but in the presence of the then chief election commissioner and the secretary ECP and certainly not with members of the ECP alone.

He said the members had always refrained from meeting politicians in the absence of the chief election commissioner and secretary ECP, who was the administrative head of the commission.

In reply to a question, he, however, conceded that the returning officers were not under the control of the ECP.

Some legal experts believe that under Article 218 of the constitution, the ECP is empowered to take all the steps required to ensure free and fair polls and can even act against the returning officers who flouted the law or some directions issued by the commission.

When contacted, an ECP official explained that under the proposed unified election law, the district returning officers, returning officers, assistant returning officers, presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, polling officers and any other officer shall be deemed to be under the control, superintendence and discipline of the ECP for the period commencing on and from the date of the notification of the election programme till the publication of the names of the returned candidates.

An official or a public functionary or any member of the police or other law enforcement agency appointed to perform any duty in connection with the holding of an election shall act under the directions of the commission.

Any official or public functionary or any member of the police force, who is appointed to perform the election duty, shall be deemed to be on deputation to the commission for the period his services have been acquired by the ECP.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd , 2014