ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asserted its unlimited powers to scrutinise funding of the political parties at any time.

In its detailed judgment on admissibility of a petition accusing the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) of receiving foreign funding in violation of the rules and misuse and concealment of the funds so received, the ECP said the Political Parties Order, read with the Political Patties Rules, 2002, was clear and unambiguous.

Rule 4 requires a party to maintain an account indicating sources of funds audited by a chartered accountant.

The petition was filed by PTI’s founding information secretary Akbar S. Babar.

The ECP’s order came after the PTI assailed the commission’s jurisdiction to hear such complaints and its counsel insisted that the question of admissibility be decided first.

It said all financial transactions were to be entered in the statement of account under the law which empowered the commission to decide whether the contributions were in accordance with legal provisions and rules and not prohibited under Rule 6(3). It also has the power to confiscate in favour of the state any amount received in violation of the law and rules.

Referring to a ruling of the Supreme Court regarding the imposition of emergency, reported in PLD 104 and cited by the respondent’s counsel during arguments against the ECP’s jurisdiction to hear the case, the commission said: “We fail to understand as to how the assumption of jurisdiction by the Election Commission of Pakistan, being the only relevant authority, can be equated with assumption of powers by the authority imposing emergency in the country or martial law. In the present case the jurisdiction is not merely assumed, it completely vests in the commission and in no other authority.”

The order said that while referring to the jurisdiction and powers of the commission under Article 218 and 219 of the Constitution as well as the Political Parties Order and Rules, it had been said that the parties were obligated to disclose the source of funds and the ECP could scrutinise such statements of its own accord and not on a complaint filed by a third party.

“As a matter of law and fact the very statements are submitted before the commission not to be treated as a bank locker where the items are placed for safe custody but are liable to be looked into by the commission which has the unlimited powers of scrutinising the same in accordance with law. Had the commission lacked such powers, there was no fun in submitting such statements compulsorily before the commission,” it said.

The commission said it was not correct to suggest that the scrutiny could not be done on a complaint.

“If the statement could not be scrutinised at the time of submission, the law does not prohibit that the same cannot be done subsequently. The commission does never surrender its powers as there is no estoppel in law and such jurisdiction can be assumed any time,” the ECP ruled.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2015

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