ISLAMABAD: The inquiry commission investigating allegations of rigging in the 2013 general elections took exception to an utterance by the PML-Q counsel when he said that all previous elections were marred with “experiments” and the method employed in the 2013 elections was returning officers (ROs).

“You have made a sweeping statement that the 2013 general elections were rigged through the ROs,” observed Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, who heads the three-judge poll inquiry commission.

“If you make allegations, then you have to bring evidence to support them too,” he observed.

Dr Khalid Ranjha, who is representing the PML-Q, was arguing that the commission should summon at least six ROs from constituencies where ROs consolidated election results without giving prior notice to PML-Q candidates.

“There is a mechanism in election laws to safeguard the interests of the candidates at the time of the compilation of the election results,” the counsel argued, admitting that some PML-Q candidates had even filed election petitions in tribunals.

The commission ordered Salman Akram Raja, representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), to submit the Form 16 – which contains the consolidated results from all polling stations – of all those constituencies where PML-Q candidates contested, along with a breakdown of the votes polled.

But the record will be produced by the ECP whenever the PML-Q produces its 16 witnesses before the commission and a decision on whether to summon any ROs will be taken later.

“Was this the only evidence with you, that notices were not issued to candidates at the time of the consolidation of the election results,” the chief justice asked Dr Ranjha.

But the counsel reminded the commission that even a head of the state, an obvious reference to former president Asif Ali Zardari, was on the record as saying that the 2013 polls were the “elections of the RO”. The counsel, however, was told by the commission to bring in the former president as a witness.

“Why should the commission summon witnesses when it is the counsel who should be bringing evidence,” Justice Ejaz Afzal observed and wondered whether the counsel was fishing for evidence.

“You want the commission to infer that notices were not served on the candidates,” the judge asked.

Justice Amir Hani Muslim said the commission would be going beyond the three terms of reference in the presidential ordinance that constituted the commission if it accepted Dr Ranjha’s argument.

Salman Akram Raja also told the commission that it was the ECP’s stance that the ROs made the determination of the requirement of ballot papers in each constituency only in Punjab and not in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh or Balochistan, where the deputy commissioners had made such assessments.

Earlier, the commission recorded testimonies of Punjab Election Commission’s Deputy Director Abdul Waheed, ECP Director General (budget) Ashfaq Ahmed Sarwar, ECP Islamabad’s Deputy Director (coordination) Shabbir Ahmed Moghal, Printing Corporation of Pakistan’s former Islamabad director general (budget) Raja Ghousuddin and Manager Fazlur Rehman.

They were also cross-examined by PTI counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Salman Akram Raja and PML-N counsel Shahid Hamid.

Raja Ghous admitted that on April 26, 2013, a letter was written to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) director general and the defence secretary asking that Inter-Services Intelligence and IB representatives provide security clearance for the Post Foundation Press (PFP), which had also printed ballot papers. Later, the clearance was given, he said.

Fazlur Rehman deposed that the PFP had delivered 4.19 million ballot papers both unbound and un-numbered to the PCP, which, after receiving the ballots, undertook the exercise of binding and numbering the same. These ballot papers were delivered to the PCP under army escort and later distributed among the ROs.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2015

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