Pakistan:The ECP relents, only a little

EDITORIAL:DAILY TIMES

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) continues to remain in the news. As demands from certain quarters for its reconstitution continue, it is business as usual for the institution that is in charge of ensuring that all election mechanisms are in order and loopholes covered. From the authenticity of voters’ lists, to proper submission of nomination papers, to verification of data provided by potential candidates, to strategising the elimination of pre- and during polls rigging, the ECP has a body of work that is not just time consuming but also requires a great amount of transparency of action. One important step taken by the ECP was the ban it imposed on any new recruitments/hiring of personnel for any government departments that could be seen as an attempt to curry favour with the voters before the elections. The ECP directive of January 22, 2013, ordered a complete ban on new jobs before the elections. It also said that foreign donor funds could not be diverted from the projects for which they were originally intended. After the review of the directive requested by the federal law and justice ministry, the ECP in a revised decree has retained the ban on any fresh recruitment excluding those announced before August 31, 2012. The prohibition against diverting foreign donor funds has also been retained, with the concession that any such request would be looked at on a case-by-case basis. The ban on jobs excludes certain constitutional institutions such as the superior judiciary as well as recruitment through the public service commissions, federal and provincial. This decision is the ECP’s answer to the government’s contention that it has a mandate to govern until the assemblies are dissolved, and the complete ban on recruitments would disrupt the work of many ministries and departments. The ECP’s reviewed decision should be taken as a positive since it ensures that no undeserved favour is bestowed on anyone that may be classified as an incentive to tilt the vote in the upcoming elections in anyone’s favour. The government’s incumbency factor, combined with its power to authorise any position to be filled in any ministry, division, department and institution, puts it in the questionable position where it could be tacitly or otherwise using the official paraphernalia to promote its agenda for the purpose of gain in the elections. The ECP, within the parameters of its power, has presented a framework that would limit, if not eliminate, the misuse of power by the federal or any provincial government. The directive vis-à-vis diversion of funds is another positive step that would minimise any attempt at the abuse of donor funds for partisan political advantage. Any foreign donor’s request will be given due consideration, but no parliamentarian or high governmental official will be authorised to take large amounts of money that may be utilised to undertake a project in a particular area, where the rival group/s may not be in a position to do the same. This would be another step in establishing the incumbent government’s promise to ensure an unbiased environment where the populace would cast its vote as per its discretion, evaluating each candidate’s performance record, and not as a token of gratitude for a favour. The 2013 general elections will be a watershed moment in the troubled history of Pakistan, where the democratic system of governance has never been given a chance to establish a foothold. The ECP’s decisions provide a chance to divest the system of some of the anomalies that have been the trademark characteristics of the pre-election modus operandi of parties in power. Let the ECP, the institution in charge of overseeing the elections, fulfil its responsibilities in a fair and transparent manner. That would be a very important step in solidifying the democratic system of governance in Pakistan.