ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N is seeking legal expertise on electoral issues, indicating that it is trying to find a way to pacify the grumblings of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and several possible scenarios have been discussed among government officials, sources told Dawn.

An official source said that key officials were examining the PTI’s demand for voters’ thumbprint-verification in four controversial constituencies – NA-110 (Sialkot), NA-122 (Lahore), NA-125 (Lahore) and NA-154 (Lodhran) – in the hope of finding a solution that might be acceptable to all concerned.

But, the Constitution stipulates that only election tribunals can order the verification of voters’ thumbprints in any constituency.

Article 22, dealing with electoral disputes, states that “No election to a house or a provincial assembly shall be called in question except by an election petition presented to such tribunal and in such a manner as may be determined by Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)”. Anyone aggrieved by the decision of an election tribunal could approach the Supreme Court, the official said.

He said that one of the options available to the government called for an amendment to the Representation of Peoples Act (ROPA) 1976 to empower the Election Commission to direct tribunals – something not currently provided for under the legal framework. This lacuna, many believe, handicaps the commission, especially in cases where tribunals violate the law by handing out unnecessary adjournments.

Another option, the official said, was re-election on the four controversial seats. But there is strong opposition to this idea, as two of the seats are from Lahore – the hometown of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The NA-122 seat belongs to National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq who won it with 93,389 votes against Imran Khan’s 84,517. Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique holds the NA-125 seat, which was the centre of widespread controversy immediately after the elections when videos of the incumbent arguing with voters in a women-only polling station emerged on social media. Mr Rafique won the seat with 123,094 votes against PTI candidate Hamid Khan’s 83,190.

Defence Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif won the NA-110 seat with 92,803 votes, while the PTI’s Usman Dar could manage only71,525. This was Khawaja Asif’s third consecutive win from this constituency after 2002 and 2008.

The PML-N’s Siddiq Baloch beat PTI’s Jahangir Khan Tarin in NA-154, with 86,177 votes to Tarin’s 75,955.

The government, the official said, had agreed in principle to the PTI’s demands. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan stated on the floor of the National Assembly that his party was ready to conduct voters’ thumbprint verification in 40 constituencies, adding that they were only bound by the Constitution, having no legal authority to issue such an order.

If the PTI is given an assurance that the government will not oppose a petition seeking thumbprint verification in the four constituencies if one is filed in the Supreme Court, things may turn out more smoothly, he said.

However, no final decision has yet been taken and these are but a few of the options that are on the table for the government to choose from, the source said.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2014