ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday called the charges levelled by “certain elements” (opposition alliance and PTI) on the appointment of district returning officer (DRO) and returning officer (RO) in NA-18 Haripur constituency as baseless, saying such appointments can be made in by-polls as per need.
“Certain elements are routinely making baseless allegations to make the recent by-elections, especially Haripur NA-18, controversial, including calling the appointment of DRO and RO in NA-18 Haripur a conspiracy,” the ECP spokesman said in a statement.
The electoral body’s statement came in reaction to mainly the Saturday’s news conference held by the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) vice-chairman ex-senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and former finance minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Taimur Jhagra in which they unleashed a barrage of allegations against the ECP.
“These claims are completely contrary to the facts, as due to shortage of staff in general elections, it is not possible for the Election Commission to appoint ROs and DROs, but this is done as per the need in by-elections,” the spokesman said.
He explained that in the recent by-elections too, the ECP officers posted in the same area were appointed as DROs and ROs. “This is a completely legal authority of the commission under the Elections Act 2017 and the Election Commission has always appointed DROs and ROs,” he added.
“The appointment of DROs and ROs is done long before the poll day, but no objection was raised from any side till the election day and these allegations are being made after losing the election. There are various forums for resolving disputes after the elections are over. If the RO had refused to receive any application, the concerned party should have approached the Election Commission, but this was not done,” the spokesman contended. “Similarly, after the election, the RO is approached first for stopping consolidation or recounting, and if he does not do so, the commission is approached within the stipulated time, but this was not done,” he noted.
The ECP spokesman claimed that the allegation that Form 45 was prepared in advance was also wrong because all the presiding officers and supporting staff were taken from the provincial administration. If the Election Commission wanted, he continued, it could have appointed employees of federal institutions posted in KP as presiding officers, but this was not done.
“The staff provided by the provincial administration submitted the polling bags and results to the RO’s office after the election, and similarly, the security staff was also from the provincial government,” he added.
He said the purpose of repeating the same baseless allegations after every election was only to make the election process suspicious. “If any party has an objection to the results, its forum is the Election Tribunal, which is already established where an election petition can be filed, and not to make allegations before the media,” the spokesman said, adding: “The ECP has taken and will continue to take steps in accordance with the Constitution and law in these by-elections as well.”
Meanwhile, Special Assistant for Information Shafiullah Jan said on Sunday that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had ordered an inquiry into the Haripur by-election.
He told the Geo News that the inquiry would cover officials from Class-IV employees up to the deputy commissioner. “We believe our subordinate officers are not involved, but we are still conducting the inquiry,” he added.
Shafi Jan added that anyone found involved would face strict punishment. He said that, in his view, the way Sohail Afridi conducted the elections was unprecedented. “We are also sending a reference to the Election Commission regarding allegations of rigging in the Haripur elections,” he said.
He added that presiding officers’ statements were being recorded and that their affidavits were also being obtained.
