Article 218 (3) of the Constitution of Pakistan says that it "shall" be the duty of Election Commission to "organise and conduct the election and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law, and the corrupt practices are guarded against." This constitutional provision empowers - clearly and unambiguously - the Election Commission of Pakistan to take every possible step aimed at holding free and fair elections and discouraging corrupt practices in order to protect and preserve the sanctity and credibility of its elections. The latest ECP step of placing a ban on launch of new development schemes and barring recruitments in all federal, provincial and local governments, however, raises a question whether or not this step, is a little premature because of the fact that this ECP measure has come into effect weeks prior to the announcement of the schedule for the 2018 general elections. Normally such restrictions kick in once the schedule of general elections has been announced.
According to media reports, an order passed by the ECP has sought to immediately halt work on all development schemes approved on or after April 1, including but not restricted to gas and water supply schemes and construction and carpeting of roads. The Commission has also banned transfer of previously allocated development funds to other heads. An ECP official has been quoted as saying that letters to this effect have been sent to all ministries and relevant departments. According to him, a complete ban has also been placed on recruitment in the federal, provincial and local governments with effect from April 1. The order will, however, not affect the ongoing recruitments being made through the Federal Public Service Commission or the Provincial Public Service Commission. Earlier, on April 2, the ECP had barred public officeholders from using public money to promote themselves ahead of the elections. The ECP had communicated to the provincial chief secretaries that the Commission was busy with preparations for the upcoming elections and various stakeholders had reported that several public officeholders, including ministers, members of the national and provincial assemblies and party leaders, were announcing development schemes and fixing inaugural plaques under their names to woo voters ahead of the general elections. "Understandably development schemes such as hospitals, schools, roads, tube wells, etc., are executed through public money, therefore self-projection through public exchequer is by no means acceptable," according to the ECP letter sent to chief secretaries.
The ECP seems to have derived its strength to check "corrupt practices" from recent observations of Chief Justice of Pakistan through which he has unveiled his opposition to the release of development funds to the MNAs and MPAs on the eve of general elections. But nowhere did the CJP ask the ECP to comply with his observations or directions prior to the announcement of the election schedule. This leads to another question: What did the ECP do a year ago when the then prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, used his discretionary powers for initiating gas supply schemes by lifting the moratorium on new gas connections in the constituencies of around 100 parliamentarians, including federal ministers, by doling out Rs 27 billion worth of development funds? Wasn't the then prime minister's step stemming from his discretionary powers clearly aimed at winning the general elections in 2018?