THE Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to remove all asset declarations of parliamentarians and senators from its website is inexplicable. Moreover, the removal of these declarations at the height of the Panama Papers controversy makes the act appear even more suspicious. The data was removed when a parliamentary subcommittee objected to its online publication, saying that the lawmakers’ privacy was being violated, and the ECP refused to restore the list to its website even after a larger parliamentary panel requested it to do so. Reportedly, the ECP is asking for additional legal authority to upload the list, while paper copies continue to be available to the general public against a small charge. What is puzzling is the ECP’s argument for additional legal authority when the data was already available on their website for two years. Was specific legal authorisation not required for the upload back then? Removing the data now, as the May 9 release of the full Panama Papers dump approaches, even though a parliamentary panel has asked for the upload, makes the ECP’s decision appear arbitrary and designed to accommodate the wishes of a small group of individuals.

The asset declarations do contain some personal information, such as account numbers and addresses, but those seeking elected office should know that these disclosures are a requirement. The ECP itself has done nothing with these disclosures except to shelve them. Making them available to the public would at least be a way of letting people know what the official declarations say and if they are in keeping with the politicians’ lifestyle. By keeping them out of the public’s view, the ECP ensures that the filing of these declarations is nothing more than a mere formality. One consequence of treating financial disclosure requirements for elected officials in such a non-serious way was apparent when the public learned through the international media that two-thirds of their elected parliamentarians don’t even file income tax returns. The country suffered major humiliation due to this disclosure, and it is fair to ask why the ECP knew nothing of this — it certainly did not act on it. All financial disclosure requirements for elections, whether poll expenses, tax details or asset declarations, are public information and should be available online. The ECP is rightly being asked to change course and make the declarations available online, and it should heed this bit of advice.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2016