ISLAMABAD: In a dramatic turn of events, Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Dr Asif Hussain resigned a few days after seeking an extension in his leave, replaced by Omar Hamid Khan who had resigned in January this year.
The electoral entity continued to take centre stage as Secretary ECP, on leave for the last few days, recently sought a further extension in his leave, citing health reasons, which was reportedly rejected, prompting him to resign. The ECP has neither, officially, confirmed or denied it.
Hussain’s predecessor and successor Omar Hamid Khan had also sought leave citing health reasons before stepping down in January this year, a month before the scheduled February 8 general elections.
ECP has issued the notifications of Hussain’s resignation, and Khan’s appointment as Secretary ECP.
Presently, the electoral organisation is under severe criticism over its alleged failure to hold free and fair by-elections of the Assemblies.
All five ECP-conducted major elections in a little less than three months were allegedly highly controversial; however, the electoral body has rejected all allegations.
The 9 March presidential elections became controversial as they were held even though the Electoral College was incomplete at the time and remains so to this day. Mahmood Khan Achakzai, one of the two candidates in that election, formally wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja to postpone the elections citing incomplete Electoral College due to non-allotment of several reserved seats in the Assemblies.
On March 14, by-elections were held on six vacant Senate seats but the candidates elected on these seats could not take oath as Senate remained dysfunctional following the ECP’s decision to hold Senate elections on April 2 whereas 52 senators stood retired after the completion of their six-year term on March 11. These senators finally took oath on April 9.
Ahead of April 2 Senate elections, the ECP took another alleged controversial decision to postpone the elections on all 11 seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly citing non-administering of oath to lawmakers elected on women-reserved seats in the provincial assembly by the speaker. Resultantly, KP Assembly was deprived of its representation on 11 seats when chairman and deputy chairman Senate elections were elected on April 9.
By-elections on 21 seats of the Assemblies on April 21 have once again subjected the electoral organisation to criticism over alleged instances involving kidnapping of electoral staff, tampering with ballot papers, casting of fake votes, tampering with election results, violence and intimidation in certain constituencies.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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