ISLAMABAD: The Senate Forum for Policy Research has observed that despite complaints of gross irregularities by several parties in the July 25 general elections, the positive sign is that political groups have shown maturity in the post-election conduct.

Presiding over a meeting of the forum, its chairman Senator retired Col Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi said on Wednesday that “nobody should be a judge in his own case” and it also applied to state institutions, including the Election Commission of Pakistan and National Accountability Bureau.

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“If there is a complaint against a judge, then there is no redress mechanism partially,” he added.

Mr Mashhadi said: “We all have learned a lot and a lesson is to limit the differences and accusation to politics only and not to further the political issues to personality clash.”

The meeting witnessed aggressive speeches by senators belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami Natio­nal Party against the ECP, deployment of army personnel inside polling stations and pushing polling agents out of polling stations after voting hours.

However, former senator Mohsin Leghari and incumbent Senator Faisal Javed of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf lauded the ECP for smooth conduct of the elections.

“We had complaints in the 2013 elections and demanded opening of four constituencies only, and there is a similar demand now — we need to address the issue and we should open up the constituencies as per the demand now,” Senator Faisal Javed said, adding that the commendable part of the elections was democratic transition.

Senator Anwarul Haq, a supporter of the Balochistan Awami Party, expressed concern over the attitude of politicians and said that the ‘tug of war’ policy of political parties should end.

“If it is not the military then the political powers try to dictate the offices and bureaucracy, including the ECP — we too should allow them to exercise their powers with authority.”

He referred to a meeting of a Senate standing committee in 2017 and said the ECP was opposed to the RTS (Result Transmission System) introduced in this election, but then finance minister Ishaq Dar wanted to implement it.

Former senators Ilyas Bilour, Afrasiab Khattak and Sehar Kamran and current senators Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif and Nuzhat Sadiq also criticised the ECP.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2018