ISLAMABAD: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has empowered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to suspend any officer — who is performing election duties or is a public functionary — for being involved in influencing the result of local government elections in the province.

The ECP had been seeking similar powers for quite some time in order to make the electoral process more streamlined and transparent across the country.

Rule 8 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Councils (Conduct of Elections) Rules, 2014 reads, “The Commission or the commissioner may at any time for reasons to be recorded in writing, suspend an officer performing any duty in connection with an election, or any other public functionary, or any member of the police force, or any other law enforcing agency who obstructs or prevents or attempts to obstruct or prevent the conduct of fair and impartial poll or interferes or attempts to interfere with an elector when he records his vote, or influences in any manner the polling staff or an elector or does any other act calculated to influence the result of an election, and make such arrangements as it or he may consider necessary for the performance of the functions of the officer so suspended whose case shall be referred to appropriate authority for disciplinary action.”

Though district returning officers (DROs), returning officers (ROs) and presiding officers (POs) have not been specifically mentioned, the general phrasing appears to cover all key polling staff. Many believe that having effective control over polling staff would eliminate voter fraud to a large extent as widespread rigging would not possible without the active collusion of such key personnel.

The draft unified election law, prepared by the ECP and under consideration with the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms is more specific.

Under the proposed law, the district returning officer, returning officer, assistant returning officer, presiding officer, assistant presiding officer, polling officer, and any other officer including law enforcement personnel, shall be deemed to be under the control, superintendence and discipline of the commission for the period commencing from the date of the notification of the election programme until publication of the name of the returned candidate in the official gazette.

Under it, the ECP will be able to suspend, substitute any person referred to in clause (a) by another such person, and return the substituted individual to the department to which he belongs, with an appropriate report on his conduct; make recommendation to the concerned ministry or department for action by the authority competent to take disciplinary action, against such person in respect of any act of insubordination or dereliction of duty while on election duty, if such person obstructs or prevents or attempts to obstruct or prevent the conduct of fair and impartial poll or interferes or attempts to interfere with an elector when he records his vote, or influence in any manner the polling staff or an elector or does any other act calculated to influence the result of election, or disobeys any order or avoid to carry out any instruction duly issued by the Commission or any officer authorized to issue any order or instruction.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2014