THE Election Commission of Pakistan has many shortcomings. Be it the individual election tribunal judgements or, more importantly, the inquiry commission report authored by former chief justice of the Supreme Court Nasirul Mulk, most of the problems identified in the conduct of elections appear to be ECP-related.

Despite being constitutionally empowered and having security of tenure, ECP members have by and large not been able to ensure progressively cleaner and fair elections. Yet, is the path of confrontation taken by the PTI supremo Imran Khan really a sensible choice?

To begin with, the Constitution clearly and deliberately provides ECP members with security of tenure designed specifically to insulate them from political pressures. The only way to remove an ECP member, other than the latter choosing to quit office, is by taking up the issue with the Supreme Judicial Council and proving that the ECP member is incapable of performing his duties or is guilty of misconduct.

Also read: PTI to hold sit-in on October 4 if ECP members do not resign: Imran

How does bypassing the constitutional process, demanding the resignations of ECP members and threatening to hold yet another sit-in, this time outside the ECP offices in Islamabad, improve the democratic system in the country?

Consider what will likely happen if some of the ECP members do succumb to the PTI’s pressure and resign, as has been reported in sections of the media. New members will replace them and nothing will really be done to improve the conduct of elections.

There is already the example of former CEC Fakhruddin Ebrahim quitting in June 2013 after the Supreme Court appeared to dictate the timetable of the presidential election.

Did the replacement of Mr Ebrahim lead to any fundamental change when it came to the holding of local government elections in Balochistan and KP? Curiously, the PTI appears more tolerant of the many flaws in the KP LG polling process than it does of the May 2013 general election.

The meaningful solution is the one that has been apparent ever since May 2013, and underlined by the problems with the subsequently held LG elections: electoral reforms via parliament.

Individuals can make a difference in the ECP, but as presently constituted, it effectively only allows for retired superior court judges to become ECP members – are they really administrative experts capable of managing a vast electoral machine that goes all the way down to the polling station level and consists mainly of election officials temporarily borrowed from other government departments and the judiciary?

Moreover, when it comes to the voting process itself and the management of the record of the vote in case of disputes later, there have been a host of problems identified that would require amending electoral laws and rules. Should not Mr Khan really be taking up the issue inside parliament, using the report of the former chief justice as the starting point for change?

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2015

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