However, after the changes in the law, will the ECP be able to conduct general elections on time, as National Assembly completes its term in August 2023? Or would it be a party to the delay due to administrative reasons?
Perhaps, a more critical question will be: what has the ECP done to maintain its institutional credibility, impartiality and integrity, especially at a time when it stands at the lowest level of public and stakeholder trust.
Let me remind you that not only is the census 2023 delayed but also the Sindh government is questioning its conduct. The last census results were provisionally used by the ECP in 2018 for delimitation after an agreement with Sindh. But will that be possible now?
A fair delimitation exercise is dependent on availability of revenue and accurate administrative maps, balancing principle of equality of vote, that is relatively equal sizes of the electoral constituencies, by calculating population quota per seat of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies as allocated in the constitution for each province and integrating varied district-wise average ratio of voting population per provincial constituency.
If the census results are not disclosed immediately then the ECP may be unable to complete the delimitation process by October 2023. But what has ECP done to ensure access to final census results? I haven’t seen any press release or letter from the ECP to this effect. It is unclear if the ECP is thinking of using the last census data. How will this impact the credibility of the ECP is written on the wall.
The principle of equality of vote (one-person one-vote) was violated in some constituencies in 2018. For example, Bannu and Tank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had one National Assembly seat each, despite the fact that Bannu had a population of 1.2 million while Tank only 400,000. This meant that a voter in Bannu had three times more weightage than a voter in Tank. The ECP must ensure that constituencies do not show more than five percent difference in voter population per constituency.
Not only is the census 2023 delayed but also the Sindh government is questioning its conduct. The last census results were provisionally used by the ECP in 2018 for delimitation after an agreement with Sindh. But will that be possible now?
Up-to-date electoral roll is closely linked to the census. It does not only mean how many voters are added to the roll but also how voters get re-allocated to other constituencies when new delimitation is done.
The membership of political parties and authentication of party financing will be another challenging area for the ECP. It must authenticate and validate the CNIC of members of new political parties under Section 202 of the Election Act 2017.
Party financing is contentious, especially in backdrop of the case against the PTI. The ECP has never been able to ensure that a political party submits consolidated statement of its accounts audited by a chartered accountant on Form D containing annual income and expense; source of funds; and assets and liabilities within 60 days of the close of a financial year. It is not known if the ECP has set up an institutional mechanism to coordinate among financial gatekeepers to facilitate the ECP for financial clearance and accountability of political parties.
Further, the ECP does not have means to verify if a political party promotes violence or if a violent group seeks fresh enlistment under a new name.
What has ECP done to ensure access to final census results? I haven’t seen any press release or letter from the ECP to this effect. It is unclear if the ECP is thinking of using the last census data.
Another challenge that the ECP faces is managing polling stations, poll staff and security. It is expected that the up-coming general election will have more than 100,000 polling stations preferably in government buildings. During the last elections, the polling stations were geo-tagged. After the devastating floods in Sindh, KP and Balochistan, most of these building will not be in a condition to host polling activities. In the general elections 2018, according to the EU observation report, some 50.59 percent polling stations were non-compliant. Identification and availability of the suitable government buildings that have adequate facilities, such as lighting, toilet, ventilation, ramp and more, especially in rural and far-flung areas, will be a daunting challenge for the ECP. It requires its immediate attention.
Protecting polling stations against election violence will require heightened attention, given the charged political environment. In the last general elections, the ECP declared 17,007 out of 85,317 polling stations as sensitive and 370,000 army and 45,000 police personnel were engaged for security. CCTVs were also installed at these stations.
ECP’s neutrality is crucial. It must be independent of undue influence or control from any political party, government, or other external entities and it should be free from political interference in its decision-making processes; it must remain unbiased and treat all political parties, candidates, and voters equally; it must be transparent in all electoral processes; it must maintain integrity and ethics in its conduct and make efforts to eliminate corruption, fraud, or any unethical practices that could compromise the electoral process.
Further, it must exercise authority to carry out duties, including power to enforce electoral laws, resolve disputes, and make decisions independently without undue influence; it must build consensus among stakeholders, including political parties, candidates, and civil society organisations; and demonstrate professionalism by engaging competent and experienced staff.
The ECP has a long list to comply with in a short time. But before getting into the election mood full throttle, it must foster public trust.