ECP establishes monitoring wing to ensure transparency in next general election
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PESHAWAR: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of Pakistan, Justice (R) Sardar Muhammad Raza Thursday said that monitoring wing had been established to ensure transparency and fairness in 2018 general election.
He expressed these views while addressing a high level meeting of all regional election commissioners, districts and agencies election commissioners of KP and Fata pertaining to preparations for the upcoming general elections here at Peshawar Services Club.
The meeting was attended besides others by Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan, Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, Additional Secretary Admin, Fida Muhammad, Additional Secretary Training Zafar Iqbal and Provincial Election Commissioner Pir Maqbool Ahmed.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) said the monitoring wing would monitor every phase of the election at every place and quickly submit its report to Election Commission and the role of regional election commissioners at division level would be of paramount importance.
He said directives had already been issued to the Provincial Election Commissioners to visit all the offices of their respective provinces for effective coordination and work as a team.
He said ECP was making full preparations for election 2018 as it was very near and directed the officers and staff to prepare themselves for it.
Raza said a comprehensive strategy had been prepared for training of officers and polling staff started on permanent basis at Federal Election Academy for the last few months, which would continue till 2018 general election.
He directed the officers to complete data of all eligible staff and send it to ECP so that their professional training could be started from July 2017.
He directed the officers to select upright, honest and hardworking persons so that they could perform the duties of national obligation in effective manner.
Raza underlined the need for more work in all those areas where women voters were less than male in electoral lists so that register eligible women voters could be included in voters lists.
In this connection, NADRA has been requested to issue CNICs to women before their inclusion in the voters lists.
Work on reviewing of voters lists is being started soon and directed the staff to get ready for it besides for the situation that would emerged after completion of the ongoing sixth national and population census 2017.
He said that entire nation was looking towards ECP as Election 2018 is very near and the role of election officers and staff in it would be of paramount importance.
Raza said Results Management System (RMS) had been made compulsory and asked the staff to understand it fully for its effective utilization in 2008 elections.
District Voters Education Committees were being activated for which all necessary instructions were given to all the provincial election commissioners.
He said polling staff and officers was being made answerable to ECP besides efforts were underway to get financial and administrative autonomy.
The monthly meetings of planning committees of ECP had been started so that the staff of KP could discuss important election related issues with Secretary and other officers of ECP independently.
He said the facilities like modern heavy duty vehicles, office furniture and others materials were being provided to the field officers to perfume their duties in effective manner.
Later, briefing newsmen about the key decisions taken during the meeting, Secretary ECP Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad said decisions regarding new delimitations or expansion in the existing delimitations would be made after analyzing the 6th Census Report 2017 likely to be shared with the Commission in July this year.
He said Director General would lookafter the Monitoring Wing of ECP who would closely in touch with field officers and will quickly report to ECP management about any short comings and quality works.
To a question, Babar said ECP was ready to hold election if required within 90 days.
To another question regarding enforcement of bio metric system, right to votes to oversees Pakistanis and Electronic Voting, he said the ECP has already used bio metric procedure in Haripur by election on trial basis and would further test it in future by elections as more bio metric machines would be brought for results analysis after June.
He said oversees Pakistan were living scattered in world and giving rights to votes to them was a big challenge to ECP.
He said "failure is not an option but we will take all the decision to ensure free, neutral and transparent elections next year".
Babar said efforts was underway to bring all the eligible women voters under election process.
He said about 11 million women eligible voters were out of election net and efforts were being made to bring them part of 2018 election with request to NADRA to prepare CNICs for them.
In today's meeting, he said there was complete consensus on a proposal that sessions judges should be appointed as District Returning Officers for 2018 polls.
He said ECP had requested the Finance Division for provision of a budget of Rs 10 bln to Rs 15 bln for smooth conduct of election 2018.
He said ECP had the power to declare an election result null and void in case of less than of 10 percent votes casted by women against the total votes. (APP)
