ISLAMABAD, July 5: The Election Commission said on Friday that it had not finalized any code of conduct for the general election, and had only invited suggestions from the political parties about the code.

The Chief Election Commissioner, Justice Irshad Hasan Khan (retd), told Dawn that it was unbelievable that such an important and fundamental issue would be finalized by the Election Commission unilaterally.

“I firmly believe in effective and meaningful consultation on matters of public importance with the political parties,” he said.

He said the Election Commission in its meeting on July 4, had only decided to invite suggestions from the political parties by August 5, 2002, whether to retain the provisions of the Code of Conduct for the general election, 1997, in its present form or any of its provisions be modified, amended, deleted or some new provisions be added in the code of conduct for the forthcoming elections.

The Election Commission said in its official announcement it was of the considered view that effective and meaningful consultation with the political parties on important issues relating to electoral process and, in particular, the code of conduct for the political parties and contesting candidates was a sine qua non for holding free, fair and transparent elections.

“Consultation with the political parties is also necessary for the reason that the election campaigns in South Asian countries are generally noisy because of peculiar political culture of the area. Therefore, some mechanism be devised in consultation with the political parties to keep the political atmosphere temperate and peaceful during elections,” the announcement said.

It said letters were being written by the Chief Election Commissioner to the political parties inviting precise and specific suggestions on code of conduct so as to reach the secretary, Election Commission, by August 5, 2002.

The Election Commission also released the 1997 Code of Conduct for the political parties and contesting candidates.

1) The political parties shall not propagate any opinion, or act in any manner prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or morality, or the maintenance of public order, or the integrity or independence of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the armed forces of Pakistan, as provided under Article 63 of the Constitution.

2) The political parties, their candidates, agents or workers shall not obstruct or break up meetings organized by the rival parties and candidates, nor interrupt speeches or prevent distribution of handbills and leaflets.

3) No person or a political party shall affix hoarding, posters or banners of any size or cause wall-chalking as a part of election campaign of a candidate. (Section 83A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

4) No person or a political party or a contesting candidate shall hoist or fix party flags on any public property or at any public place. (Section 83A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

5) There shall be a ban on hoisting party flags on house roofs. Party flags shall be allowed to be displayed on party and election offices of the political party.

6) No election camp shall be set up on any road or place meant for the use of the public. Election camp shall as far as possible be simple. No food or drink shall be served to the voters in the election camp.

7) No contesting candidate shall use more than three microphones in this constituency and the use of mikes shall be restricted between 11am and 4pm particularly in view of Ramazan-ul-Mubarik and Taraveeh prayers. Loudspeakers shall not be used for election campaign except at the election meetings. (Section 83A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976.)

8) The processions of buses, trucks or any other vehicles or torch procession shall not be brought out by any political party or any contesting candidate in favour of a candidate.

9) Only the polling personnel, contesting candidates, election agent, polling agents and voters, shall have a right to enter the polling station. Workers of the political parties or candidates shall not enter the polling station. The polling agents, sitting on their allotted places, shall perform their specific duties.

10) Parties and politicians should refrain from making references to secret and confidential matters, which were within their official knowledge when they were in power, nor should they betray the confidence which they enjoyed by virtue of their official position.

11) Political parties and contesting candidates should discourage their workers from exerting undue pressure against the news media, including newspapers offices and presses or resort to violence of any kind against the media.

12) Political parties and contesting candidates should refrain from making such comments on international issues as are likely to embarrass the government’s foreign relations. Controversial and harsh remarks about leaders of other countries and their ideologies should be avoided.

13) Political parties should carry out a comprehensive plan for education of voters in the manner of marking the ballot paper and casting votes.

14) The political parties shall avoid criticism of other political parties, their leaders and candidates have no bearing on their public activities. Criticism and comments shall be confined to policies and programmes of other parties. Speeches and slogans shall be dignified and based on principle of morality, decorum and decency.

15) The political parties, contesting candidates and workers shall refrain from a deliberate dissemination of false and malicious information and their workers shall not indulge in forgeries and disinformation to defame other political parties and their leaders, and use of abusive language against the leaders and candidates of their political parties.

16) No leader or candidate of a political party shall call the leader or candidate of another party kafir or traitor.

17) The political parties shall refrain from speeches calculated to arouse parochial and sectarian feelings and controversy or conflicts between genders, sects, communities and linguistic groups. (Section 78 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

18) The political parties, contesting candidates and their workers shall not propagate against the participation of any person in the elections on the basis of sex.

19) Public leaders and all other participants in political activity shall act with a sense of responsibility and dignity befitting their status. While propagating their own views and programmes, they shall not interfere with the freedom of others to do the same as that would be the negation of democracy.

20) The political parties and contesting candidates shall not hold public meeting or rallies on main streets, roads and chowks to avoid traffic jams and public inconvenience.

21) Appeals to violence or resort to violence during meetings, processions, or during polling hours shall be strictly avoided. (Section 81 or the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

22) Carriage of lethal weapons and firearms shall not be allowed in public meetings and processions and official regulations in this regard shall be strictly observed. Use of crackers and other explosives at public meetings shall not be allowed.

23) The political parties and their candidates shall extend cooperation to the officers on election duty in order to ensure peaceful and orderly polling and complete freedom for the voters to exercise their franchise without being subjected to any annoyance or obstructions. (Section 86 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

24) The political parties and their candidates shall scrupulously avoid all activities which are “corrupt practices” and offences under the election law, such as the bribing of voters, intimidation of voters, impersonation of voters, canvassing within 400 yards of a polling station, holding public meetings during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the close of the poll. (Sections 78, 84 and 85 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

25) The political parties, contesting candidates, agents or workers shall not indulge in offering gifts or gratifications or inducing another to stand or not to stand as a candidate, or to withdraw or not to withdraw his candidature. (Section 79 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

26) No contesting candidate or a political party shall, under no circumstances, cross the limit of election expenses - rupees one million for the National Assembly and Rs600,0000 for the provincial assembly seats. (Section 49 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

27) A political party may, at the national level, publish or broadcast or cause to be published or broadcast advertisements as a part of its election campaign; total expenses of such publication, broadcast or advertisement shall not exceed Rs30 million. (Section 83B of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).

28) Concerned political parties and contesting candidates may announce their overall development programme. But following the announcement of the election schedule till the day of polling, no candidate or any person on his behalf shall, openly or in secret, give any subscription or donation, or make promise for giving such subscription or donation, or make promise for giving such subscription or donation, to any institution of their respective constituency or to any other institutions, nor shall commit to undertake nay development project in the respective constituency.

29) Ministers shall not combine their official visits with electioneering work.

30) The local police administration and the opposite party shall, in advance, be informed of the date, time and place for holding meetings or processions in favour of any contending political party or candidate. The organisers of any meeting shall have to seek the assistance of the police for taking action against the persons who obstruct to holding such meeting or create disturbances in such meetings. The organisers shall not take any action against such persons.

31) The political parties and their candidates shall dissuade their workers or sympathisers from destroying any ballot paper or any official mark on the ballot paper. (Section 87 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976).