ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission will not act against the politicians accused of having received funds from Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency prior to the 1990 general election.
“We do not have any constitutional room to disqualify them,” said Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim told reporters after meeting Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry here on Monday.
Replying to a question about the fate of the politicians who had been named by Asghar Khan in his petition which was decided by the Supreme Court, the CEC said that at the time of receiving nomination papers the commission decided who fulfilled the eligibility criteria under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
Answering another question, he said the commission had not received any disqualification reference against Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
Justice Ebrahim said he had requested the chief justice to consider appointment of district and sessions judges as district returning officers for the coming elections.
He said the chief justice had promised to consider the request and see how the judiciary could cooperate with the Election Commission.
Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani in his capacity as acting Chief Election Commissioner last week had said that the commission had written a letter to the chief justice urging him to reconsider a decision of the National Judicial Policymaking Committee not to spare judges for election duties and allow them to supervise the polls.
The NJPMC headed by the chief justice took the decision in 2009 because charges of corruption regarding election duties had been levelled.
Various political parties demanded at a recent consultative session that returning officers should be from the judiciary, like in the 2008 polls.
According to a press release issued by the Supreme Court, the CEC requested permission to seek the help of the district judiciary in the coming elections.
He told the chief justice that there was a broad consensus among members of the civil society, political parties and the media that the district and sessions judges might be appointed as district returning officers for enhancing the credibility of the election process.
The chief justice said the policy barred the involvement of district judiciary in the election process because it distracted judicial officers from their professional duty and complaints of corrupt practices tarnished the image of the judiciary.
He, however, assured the CEC that his request and the sentiments of the civil society would be placed before the NJPMC at its meeting scheduled on Nov 3 for a sympathetic consideration in the national interest.
He said the committee would also consider a possible role of judges of superior courts to supervise the district returning officers and assistant DROs to ensure a transparent role of the district judiciary in the elections.
