ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said that it is impossible to hold general elections in 90 days.
The Commission has cited some legal and technical problems in holding snap elections in 90 days.
The preparations for holding general elections require at least six months time. The fresh delimitation of constituencies, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the number of seats had been increased under the 26th Amendment, and bringing district- and constituency-wise electoral rolls in conformity, were the major challenges.
Quoting sources, Dawn.com reported, “Delimitation is a time-consuming exercise where the law provides for one month’s time just to invite objections,” an ECP official said, adding that another one month was required to address the same.
He further said a minimum of three months would be needed to accomplish the exercise, to be followed by another tough task of updating the lists of voters.
The official said procurement of election material, arrangement for ballot papers and appointment and training of polling staff were also amongst the challenges. He said that under the law, ballot papers with water mark were to be used which were not available in the country and would have to be imported. He revealed that the ECP had proposed to amend the law to provide for ballot papers with ‘security features’, instead of ‘water mark’.
The official said inviting bids and scrutinising financial and technical quotations would also require some time. About the election material, he said some two million stamp pads would be required for around 100,000 polling stations. “This is just one example. Other materials in huge quantity, including scissors and ball points, will also have to be procured,” he remarked.
Referring to some legal hitches, the official said that under Section 14 of the Elections Act, the ECP was to announce an election plan four months prior to the polls. He said the law requiring use of EVMs (electronic voting machines) and giving overseas Pakistanis voting rights also held the field and had to be repealed.
The official said the commission had already announced the schedule for local government (LG) elections in Baluchistan, setting May 29 as the polling day, while the process was also under way to hold LG polls in Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad.
