Pak’s poll panel is more like Pakistan Election Omission

Says Zafarullah Khan, an unassuming executive director of Islamabad-based Centre for Civic Education, who has been working on analysing poll-related issues, “The Election Commission has just become a post office, it just forwards the complaints and more often than ever, to the person against whom the complaints have been made.”

That this isn’t way off the mark is borne out by the Pakistan EC’s self-declared report card on the complaints. Its refrain: “necessary action has been taken.” What action? Says Khan: “No one knows what necessary action means.” Besides the bureaucracy, complaints have poured in against “use of state machinery”, fudged electoral rolls, violence and over 400 complaints are against the management of polling stations, the EC’s report card says.

With no action on the ground, the EC’s role has come under the scanner.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch had warned early this week that Pakistan’s EC had failed to investigate reports of campaign violations, threatening the validity of the polls. “There have been numerous complaints of improper government assistance to the ruling party and illegal interference with opposition activities,” said Brad Adams, the group’s Asia director, adding, “but the Election Commission has done nothing significant to address these problems, raising serious questions about its impartiality.”

Pakistan EC’s secretary Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad, when asked about its role, said; “We have been very transparent about the entire electoral process…you can check our website to see all the updated information. There’s no favouritism for anyone, but official procedures do take time.”

But Zafarullah Khan, a London graduate of mass communication, is not giving up. In an extensive analysis of pre-poll expenditure by parties on television spot ads, over the last two months, he concludes that the PML-Q — the “King’s Party” — is estimated to have spent Rs 175 million (Pakistan Rupees) on 12,278 ads of 105 hours duration. It spent the bulk of its total expenditure during this period (Dec 11 to Feb 12), when all political parties — including PML-Q — have spent an estimated Rs 245 million on 17,058 ads lasting 169 hours and 57 minutes.

As if that’s not enough, to drive home the point, Khan shows the annual audited accounts of all political parties submitted to the Pakistan EC: PML-Q had, as on June 30, only 5.7 million Pakistan Rupees in its bank account. “Where did it get Rs 175 million to spend from?…the EC should investigate as there are reports of (party) tickets being sold,” he alleges.

Another attack, Asif and Nawaz meet

• At least 37 people were killed and over 100 injured in a suicide attack on the office of a PPP candidate in Parachinar town, in northwestern Pakistan, heightening security fears for Monday’s crucial parliamentary polls.

• In Lahore, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari met and vowed to launch a joint movement if Monday’s general elections are rigged. They also discussed the formation of a coalition government, should their parties win. Both said they were taking part in the elections under protest