ISLAMABAD: A District Election Commissioner (DEC) has challenged some key appointments in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In a letter written to the ECP by the provincial commissioner, DEC Faisalabad Irfan Kausar alleged that the appointments were made “illegally”. Irfan has also written a letter to President Arif Alvi drawing attention to the appointments which he termed as non-existence of service rules.
Irfan Kausar, who made headlines in the media for rejecting the nomination papers of PTI Chairman Imran Khan during the NA-108 (Faisalabad) by-elections in August 2022, has written to the ECP Secretary and Another ECP officer has indicated his intention to follow suit. Regional Election Commissioner Kohat Adnan Bashir, who had filed a reference in the SJC targeting the Chief Election Commissioner a few months ago.
In a letter to the ECP secretary, a copy of which is with JEE News, Irfan has sought various documents, including the statement of assets and liabilities, submitted by Sikandar Sultan Raja.
In a letter written to the President, Senate Chairman, Speaker of the National Assembly and Members of Parliament, he said that after the implementation of Article 221, regarding the parliamentary supervision of employment in the Election Commission of Pakistan, it is worth considering as the original article. The Constitution reads ‘Unless Parliament by law otherwise provides, the Commissioner may, with the approval of the President, make rules for the appointment of the Commissioner or the officers and employees appointed in connection with the functions of the Commissioner or the Election Commission. and for their terms and conditions of employment.
They insist that the Constitution requires Parliament to legislate, but so far no such legislation has been enacted. He recalled the service rules framed by the then CEC in 1989 after the assent of the President which remained in force till the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
He cited that the decision of the Workers’ Party case and the report of the Commission of Inquiry on the General Elections 2013 had rightly pointed out the gray areas on the part of the ECP. The ECP officer highlighted that earlier only in-service PAS officers were posted in the ECP and that too was limited to the post of secretary, while secretaries in the past depended on the power of the ECP. used to do and try to increase its capacity.
The aforesaid judgment and report, however, highlighted most of the policy arenas within the Commission, resulting in the creation of new wings on the one hand and the weakening of the organizational hierarchy on the other.
Referring to the appointment of outsiders to administrative posts, Irfan said, “Although the controversial framework of the 1989 Act is considered to be in force, it leaves its validity even after the 22nd Amendment,” he added. That the Commissioner is running the administrative affairs of ECP. 1989 obsolete rules and amending without obtaining the assent of the President which is a mandatory requirement of these rules while the Notified Service Rules are no longer in existence.
Irfan said that in the absence of service rules, the commissioner is the sole administrative authority without the supervision of the commission.
Irfan alleged that the mid-career ECP cadre
Officers are becoming.
And said that either the President should direct the relevant authorities to submit the draft ECP Service Rules or the Chairman Senate and the Speaker National Assembly should direct the relevant committees to take up the matter for legislation.
When this correspondent sought comment
On these lines, a senior official of the commission denied the allegations on condition of anonymity and
In a confused environment related to politics and the future, these letters were called political motivation.
Elections
“Instead of going here and there, one should approach the right forum for redressal of grievances.
An official of the Commission should be well versed in the standard operating procedures for dealing with complaints.
It should also be noted that he (Irfan) has been silent for four to five months and now suddenly comes out with a flurry of allegations.
The official believed that the matter could be a media stunt and it could not be worthy of being placed before the Election Commission.
