As the proceedings of the inquiry commission set up to probe these allegations near their end, the PTI chief maintains that his party has presented enough evidence to prove that the elections were systematically rigged in favor of the ruling party.

However, the PML-N legal team, as well as counsel for national institutions such as ECP and Nadra, have argued that irregularities in the conduct of the elections could not be attributed to a conspiracy without concrete evidence linking the two disparate conclusions.

Dawn spoke to veteran lawmaker and constitutional expert S.M. Zafar and asked him for some nuance on the evidentiary requirements and punitive measures that seem to be the bone of contention for both sides.

Q: Legally speaking, how would you assess the evidence presented before the commission by political parties, especially the PTI?

A: Although I have not personally examined the documentary evidence that the various political parties have presented before the inquiry commission, it is clear that nothing that can be placed on the record will justify bypassing Article 225 of the Constitution. It is clearly written that the final outcome of an election to any house or provincial assembly could only be determined or changed by an election tribunal.

To me, it is premature to say anything definitive about the outcomes from the commission’s proceedings, but given that most of the evidence presented is circumstantial, I do not think the current government is in any danger of being unseated, as some people may be construing.

At best, the evidence provided thus far points towards mismanagement, the scale of which will be determined by the commission. But I don’t think it is possible for the commission to undo the results of the last general elections.

Q: So what are the scenarios that are more plausible?

A: The commission might have sound advice for the institutions concerned, especially with regards to the malpractices and irregularities that have been highlighted during the course of the commission’s proceedings. Based on the evidence presented before the commission so thus far, the commission will be able to order inquiries against selected officials in certain cases where there are charges of wrongdoing against them or they are suspected of misusing their authority. Anyone who was expected the assemblies to be dissolved, however, is going to be disappointed.

Q: What punitive measures can the commission recommend?

A: In my opinion, punitive action isn’t really possible at the level of the inquiry commission. Yes, if the commission finds that a certain returning officer or presiding officer has not done their job properly or have faltered in supervising the elections, the judges can always order the concerned department to initiate investigations and inquires against them. There are rules under which government officers can be formally charge-sheeted under certain charges, but that will also require proper prosecution based on specific evidence and cannot be conducted on the basis of here say.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2015

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