ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is expected to announce the schedule for general elections in Punjab today, according to The News. President Arif Alvi has already designated April 30 as the election day in Pakistan’s most populous province.
The News reported that the tribunal has decided to appoint judicial officers as district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) for the upcoming general election in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It revealed that the ECP will soon be reaching out to the Lahore High Court (LHC) and Peshawar High Court (PHC) for assistance in this regard.
The decision to involve judicial officers was taken after the Supreme Court’s ruling in the general election delay case.
The verdict read that “the Commission shall, in the prescribed manner, appoint a district returning officer for each district or a specified area from amongst its own officers subject to availability; by selection from a list of officers provided by the government or a provincial government; or from the subordinate judiciary in consultation with the Chief Justice of the high court concerned.”
The ECP had faced difficulties in appointing government officers, who could be easily influenced by officials. They cited a large number of complaints during the recently-conducted local government polls in Sindh, as well as the Daska by-election, where presiding officers mysteriously disappeared to manipulate the election results.
The ECP is unwilling to appoint district administration officials due to a shortage of officers, forcing them to appoint “junior level officers” for election duties, many of whom have political backgrounds and can be easily influenced.
