ISLAMABAD: A formal complaint has been filed with the Supreme Judicial Council against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The complaint, lodged by Haleem Adil Shaikh, Noorul Haq Qureshi, and Shabbir Ahmed, accuses the ECP officials of failing to fulfill their constitutional duties and undermining the mandate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and court decisions.
The complainants allege that the CEC and ECP members have engaged in misconduct by attempting to subvert PTI’s electoral successes and court decisions. The ECP had failed to conduct elections of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab Assembly despite the Supreme Court order.
Specific charges include the appointment of politically motivated bureaucrats as returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs), which is claimed to have biased the electoral process.
Further allegations suggest that the Chief Election Commissioner and the Chief Justice have been accused of manipulating election outcomes.
According to the complaint, a former Rawalpindi commissioner revealed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was made to win by polling an additional 70,000 votes in each constituency of Rawalpindi, raising questions about the legitimacy of the results.
The complaint also accuses the Election Commission of stripping PTI of its electoral symbol and denying its nominated members party representation, affecting over 120 million voters.
The complainants have urged the Supreme Judicial Council to investigate these allegations thoroughly and requested the dismissal of the Chief Election Commissioner and the involved members if the inquiry confirms the charges.
On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced its intention to implement the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) verdict in the PTI reserved seats case. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja presided over a meeting of ECP members to deliberate on the matter.
The ECP decided to seek direction from judges in chambers if any point of judicial decision becomes an obstruction in the execution of the SC order. “In case of any obstacle, the Supreme Court will be approached for further guidance,” the ECP declaration stated.
The ECP strongly condemned the continuous criticism of the Chief Election Commissioner and commission members by a political party and rejected the demand for their resignation as ‘absurd’. The statement emphasized that the ECP will continue to operate according to the Constitution and the law, regardless of any pressure.
Furhtermore, the ECP maintained that it did not misinterpret any decision and did not declare PTI’s intra-party election valid, as various forums upheld the decision of the ECP.
