ISLAMABAD: Faisalabad District Election Commissioner (DEC), Irfan Kausar, has brought to light suspected irregularities in the appointment of key officials within the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Kausar has taken the issue up with the provincial commissioner and has also penned a letter to President Arif Alvi, drawing attention to these appointments which he claims were made in violation of service rules.
Kausar, who made headlines last year for rejecting Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s nomination papers for NA-108 (Faisalabad) by-polls, has communicated his intentions to the commission’s secretary to follow in the footsteps of regional election commissioner of Kohat, Adnan Bashir.
Bashir had filed a reference with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) a few months ago, targeting the chief election commissioner.
In the letters he has penned, Kausar has requested access to several documents, including a statement of assets and liabilities submitted by the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.
Kausar has also argued that Article 221 of the Constitution is relevant to the matter of parliamentary oversight regarding employment in the ECP, given that the original article states, “until Parliament by law otherwise provides, the commissioner may, with the approval of the president, make rules providing for the appointment by the commissioner of officers and servants to be employed in connection with the functions of the commissioner or an Election Commission and for their terms and conditions of employment.”
He contends that the Constitution requires the parliament to frame a law, as no such legislation is currently in place. Kausar has cited the fact that service rules were established by the then chief election commissioner in 1989 with presidential approval, which remained in force until the promulgation of the 18th Amendment.
The official highlighted that in the past, only serving Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) officers were appointed to the ECP, and that too only for the position of secretary. However, in the present day, the secretaries rely on the strength of the ECP to further enhance its capacity.
The above-referred judgment and report mainly focused on policy areas within the commission. As a result, new wings were created, and the organisational hierarchy was weakened.
Kausar, referring to appointments made for administrative posts, stated that even if a contentious framework of 1989 rules is still being followed, its validity has expired after the 22nd Amendment.
The official alleged that the commissioner is running the administrative affairs of the ECP using outdated rules from 1989 and amending them without obtaining mandatory approval from the president.
Kausar claimed the commissioner is the sole administrative authority without any oversight from the commission due to the absence of service rules. The official also alleged that mid-career ECP cadre officers are being promoted arbitrarily.
Therefore, Kausar has urged the president to direct the relevant authorities to draft ECP service rules or for the chairman of the Senate and the National Assembly speaker to instruct the relevant committees to consider the matter for legislation.
