Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in a ‘Meet the Press’ programme of Peshawar Press Club has called upon the Election Commission of Pakistan to withdraw its decision of deputing the personnel of security forces inside polling stations and assigning them magisterial powers to deal with certain election-related offences during the first-ever provincial assembly polls in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

He said that they had already sent a letter to the ECP, asking it to reconsider its decision as deputing security forces personnel inside polling stations would make the election process controversial.

Prior to PPP, Awami National Party had also put forward a similar demand, which the ECP turned down last month.

In response to the demand made by ANP, the ECP in a letter had stated: “The security officials are deployed inside and outside the polling stations to hold elections in a peaceful manner and to avoid any untoward incident on the polling day. However, it is clarified that security officials have neither been allowed to interfere in the polling process nor they would be. The apprehensions in this regard are not rightly placed.”

Polling for filling 16 general seats in erstwhile Fata will be held on July 20, whereas on the basis of results of these 16 seats the five seats reserved for women and non-Muslims will be filled.

The notification of assigning different powers to security forces was issued by the ECP on June 19. It provides that Pakistan Armed Forces/Civil Armed Forces shall be deployed inside and outside all the polling stations from July 18 to July 21 for provision of secure environment to assist ECP in conduct of elections in free, fair and transparent manner. It provides that after close of polls, the troops shall be deployed at the offices of returning officers till consolidation of election results.

The armed forces shall also be deployed at the Printing Corporation of Pakistan at Islamabad from July 5 to July 20 to make security arrangements during printing/staking and storage of ballot papers.

Section 2 of the ECP’s notification states that the ECP in terms of Articles 220 and 245 of the Constitution, section 4 and 5 of the ATA, 1997, and section 5 read with section 193 of the Elections Act, 2017, hereby authorises that each designated officer in-charge of Pakistan Armed Forces/Civil Armed Forces (gazetted as well as junior commissioned officer) deployed for providing security inside and outside all the polling stations of a constituency shall exercise powers of magistrate first class for the entire period of deployment in respect of offences under section 169 (personation) and 171 (capturing of a polling station or polling booth) punishable under sections 174 (corrupt practices) of the Act and to try any such offence in a summary way.

The designated officers are now empowered to convict a person after summary trial in election-related offences, including personation and taking over of a polling station or booth, and could sentence him up to three years imprisonment or fine him Rs100,000 or both.

In the 2018 general elections, for the first time the ECP had deputed personnel of Armed Forces and Civil Armed Forces inside polling stations with magisterial powers. Some of the powers assigned to a designated officer of armed forces were identical to those assigned to the Presiding Officer of a polling station.

While some of the political parties have now been criticising the ECP for assigning magisterial powers to the armed forces officers, they ignored the fact that a provision was incorporated in the Elections Act, 2017, by the parliament empowering the ECP to assign such powers.

Section 193 of the Act deals with certain offences triable by authorised officers. Under the said section, an officer exercising the powers of a civil or criminal court, or an officer of the Armed Forces, or an officer performing a duty in connection with an election, who is authorised by the Commission in this behalf may: exercise the powers of a magistrate of the first class under the Code of Criminal Procedure in respect of the offences of personation, or capturing of polling station or polling booth, which are punishable under section 174 of the Elections Act.

Such authorised officers are empowered to take cognizance of the said categories of offences under section 190 of the CrPC and to try the offender summarily.

It is an important question to decide that if both the presiding officer and officer of security forces are assigned the same magisterial powers and any offence of personation or capturing of a polling station takes place in a polling station, who will be taking action.

The ECP notification also provides that the Armed Forces/Civil Armed Forces personnel deployed inside or outside a polling station while performing their security duties are supposed to first report to the presiding officer any irregularity/malpractice they observe and act according to the instructions issued by him in this regard.

“In case the presiding officer does not act to prevent the commission of any reported irregularity/malpractice, the security staff will immediately bring the matter into the notice of the designated officer-in-charge of Pakistan Armed Forces/Civil armed Forces who shall immediately take action in the light of powers delegated to him and also inform the Returning Officer concerned.”

Furthermore, the notification provides that the troops deputed shall also be governed by Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan (inclusive of all clauses and sub-clauses) and section 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

During the 2018 general elections, numerous complaints were also made by mediapersons who were not permitted by the personnel of security forces to enter a polling station. While the ECP had issued accreditation cards to mediapersons for observing polling, counting and consolidation of results, they had not been permitted at different stations to observe the counting process.

Some experts on electoral issues believe that the powers of presiding officers and officers of security forces should not be overlapping and the ECP may reconsider the decision of assigning magisterial powers to the latter.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2019