THE National Assembly speaker has notified the Electoral Reforms Committee.

It has 22
Assembly members and 11 senators, and represents all political parties in parliament,
barrin three sinle!member parties. It is likely to meet soon.
The committee has a da"ntin task ahead as #akistan$s electoral system s"ffers from a
host of problems. %tartin from fa"lty electoral rolls and errymanderin in constit"ency
delimitation to &host$ pollin stations to non!iss"ance of statements of co"nt, the list is
endless. The committee is e'pected to fi' all these problems one by one. ("t, ho)soe*er
metic"lo"s it miht be in fine!t"nin the rele*ant la)s, practically speakin the problems
are not likely to *anish. E*en )hen caref"lly drafted r"les are p"t to di*erse field tests,
loopholes stand e'posed and are e'ploited by *ested interests.
Take for e'ample, the la) that re+"ires presidin officers at each pollin station to hand
o*er sined copies of statements of co"nt ,-orm .I/ and ./0 to the aents of each
contestant. The ### complained after the 1112 elections that the presidin officers did
not p"t their oriinal sinat"res on the statements so that these co"ldn$t be "sed as
e*idence in co"rts. The complaint )as redressed and the r"les amended re+"irin the
presidin officers to also p"t their th"mb impressions on the statements.
The r"le )as made )atertiht b"t the problem has persisted in all later elections. The
Election Commission of #akistan ,EC#0 had to iss"e a directi*e, one month after the
pollin in 2213, askin the ret"rnin officers to make the forms p"blicly a*ailable. ("t
this )as simply not follo)ed in many cases.
4akin the r"les imprenable is only half the 5ob done6 it is the other half 7 their
implementation 7 that is )here the real problems lie. There are t)o ma5or dras on the
EC#$s resol*e and capacity to implement the la) and deli*er credible and non!
contro*ersial elections.
-irst is the EC#$s relationship )ith the 5"diciary. Cond"ctin elections is first and last an
administrati*e 5ob, and those )ho are 5"des by trainin and description do not +"alify to
perform it. The misconception abo"t their proficiency probably oriinates from the
constit"tional pro*ision that calls for appointin retired 5"des as election commissioners.
The "nderlyin sense is that since 5"des are percei*ed as non!partisan, elections "nder
their leadership )ill be non!contro*ersial.
-ormer president 8h"lam Isha+ 9han impro*ised "pon this to hand o*er constit"ency!
le*el d"ties to 5"dicial officers as )ell, in the 11:: elections. %ince then, se*en elections
ha*e been held practically by the 5"diciary "nder the same scheme b"t ironically none
escaped bein tainted. The )ritin on the )all is that the e'periment has failed6 and this
m"st be ackno)leded and corrected.
The administration of elections by the 5"diciary also forms a clear case of conflict of
interest beca"se as an instit"tion, it administers these and then itself ad5"dicates "pon
conflicts arisin o"t of their administration. Ackno)ledin this, the National ;"dicial
#olicy 4akin Committee had in 2221 decided not to lend its personnel to the EC# b"t
retracted its decision before the 2213 elections in the &larer national interest$.
The in*ol*ement of the 5"diciary in elections has conf"sed t)o separate constit"tional
spaces reser*ed for t)o different constit"tional bodies. It has made the elections appear
like an a"'iliary f"nction of the 5"diciary )hile the 5ob of the EC# has been red"ced to
iss"in notifications, directi*es and statements.
In this conf"sion, the Election Commission has lost its freedom to make decisions and
act. The t)o f"nctions not only need to be separated from each other, the EC# also needs
some kind of imm"nity from 5"dicial inter*ention. Elections are a time!bo"nd e'ercise
and their administrators need ability, aility and creati*ity in order to be able to respond
to any "npredictable sit"ation at any ho"r. If sol"tions are to be s"b5ected to lon
proced"ral delays, they are bo"nd to pro*e "seless.
The second most important area )here the EC# needs to be empo)ered is its control o*er
the ci*il administration. It needs the ser*ices of an army of o*ernment employees to
perform d"ties at the pollin station le*el. It needs to )ean these seconded personnel off
any political affiliations, "ard them aainst threats of *iolence from *ested interest
ro"ps, check any nelience on their part and make them )ork efficiently.
<e*elopin other stakes in ci*il administration is important as peace and order in society
are a prere+"isite for elections. The EC# also needs the s"pport of all o*ernment
departments, incl"din the la)!enforcement aencies to ens"re that the Code of Cond"ct
for pre!election campains is strictly follo)ed, that *oters are not bribed or coerced, and
that there is a le*el playin field for all contestants.
The EC# has not been able to ens"re all of this to the satisfaction of the parties. =ne
likely reason is that this area too is contested by t)o constit"tional bodies, the EC# and
the caretaker o*ernment. They are both entr"sted )ith the same responsibility of
ens"rin ne"trality in o*ernment. This d"plication not only creates conf"sion b"t also
)orks as a disincenti*e for the EC# to take the initiati*e, besides allo)in the t)o to
blame fail"res on each other.
Interim set!"ps ha*e traditionally ser*ed as a constit"tional )indo) for the establishment
to inter*ene in the electoral process. The system of appointment )as chaned
s"bstantially thro"h the 1:th Amendment b"t caretaker set!"ps too ha*e failed to meet
e'pectations.
The EC# th"s needs a ne) leal frame)ork for its enaement )ith the ci*il
administration. There is no harm in takin a leaf from the Indian e'perience )here no
caretakers are appointed and the election commission *irt"ally takes o*er the entire state
machinery, as soon as the election process beins and "ntil the res"lts are anno"nced.
The Electoral Reforms Committee )ill ha*e to a*oid ind"lin in rephrasin old la)s
and sho) some creati*ity. Readers sho"ld be reminded that #akistan achie*ed an
important milestone in its first!e*er democratic transition, from one elected o*ernment
to the ne't, in 2213. The s"bse+"ent milestone sho"ld not be the ne't transition b"t
electoral reforms as only these can take polls and democracy a +"alitati*e step for)ard.
The writer works with Punjab Lok Sujag, a research and advocacy group.
Published in Dawn, July 2th, 2!"#
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