Shehzad Malik Islamabad
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Tuesday said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was an administrative body as per Constitution, which was bound to implement the laws enacted by the Parliament.
Briefing media persons about the decisions taken in the Federal Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said the ECP could not raise questions about the Parliament, as it was the supreme law making institution.
Similarly, he said, the Parliament had the prerogative to frame laws, while only the Supreme Court could declare whether any legislation was ultra-vires to the Constitution, or otherwise.
The political leadership had the right to decide as to which procedure should be adopted for holding elections, he added.
The minister said the government had already announced a comprehensive strategy to make the election process transparent and immaculate, that too in consensus with all the stakeholders.
He urged the ECP to take measures for holding the forthcoming local bodies and bye-elections through the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
“This will not only help overcome the shortcomings in the electoral process but also strengthen the people’s confidence in the EVMs,” he said, adding it would eventually ensure the use of the gadgets in the next general election.
He said the government was also committed to granting the right of vote to some 8.5 million overseas Pakistanis by introducing I-voting or the Internet voting mechanism.
The reluctance of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in granting voting rights to the
expatriates, he said, was beyond comprehension.
