Pakistan General Elections 2013

[Devil Soul]

No election participation if intra-party polls not conducted: ECP
By Web Desk
Published: February 12, 2013
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan has instructed 103 political parties to conduct intra-party elections. Any party which fails to do so will not be able to participate in general elections, reported Express News.

One hundred and three parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan National Party (BNP), Minhajul Quran International (MQI), Hazara Democratic party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan(JUP) which is an ally of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and other, have not submitted details about their intra-party elections. ECP warned that these parties will neither be allowed to participate in elections nor will they be allotted an election symbol.

The election commission further said, 91 parties still haven’t submitted details about their accounts, including MQI. These parties need to declare their assets as soon as possible in order to participate in upcoming general elections.

On Saturday, according to sources, the commission, in its bill pending with the Senate Standing Committee on Election Reforms, had proposed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the National Accountability Bureau collaborate with it in the scrutiny process to weed out loan defaulters, tax evaders and those with bogus educational qualifications.

ECP is taking rigorous steps to conduct free and fair elections. Conducting intra-party elections has become mandatory for candidates hoping to participate in general elections.

 

[Devil Soul]

PML-Q, MQM, PTI among 103 parties yet to qualify for polls
From the Newspaper | Amir Wasim |
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) are among 103 political parties which still do not qualify to contest the coming elections as they have neither held party polls nor have they disclosed details of their accounts.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued on Tuesday the list of the parties which had “not submitted the details of due intra-party elections”, as required under the Political Parties Order (PPO) of 2002, warning that the parties failing to submit certificates of internal elections would not be entitled to obtain election symbols.

The list of the 103 parties — out of the 216 registered with the ECP — which have so far failed to hold party elections also includes the Balochistan National Party-A (BNP-A) and National Party (NP). The BNP-A had held last party election in 2006 and the NP in May 2004.

The PML-Q, which is registered as PML, held its polls in July 2009 and an election has been due since July last year.

The last elections in the PTI and PAT were held in 2002 and 2006, according to the ECP record.

The Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) of Mehmood Khan Achakzai has also failed to hold election within the party since June 2007.

The list also contains the names of the now dysfunctional Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and National Alliance.

Other prominent parties in the list are PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) led by Ghinwa Bhutto, Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP), Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith (Sajid Mir), Jamiat Ulema Islam-N, Pakistan Seraiki Party, Hazara Democratic Party and Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party.

The ECP also released a list of 91 parties which had not submitted the “details of due statements of accounts”, which is also mandatory for applying for symbols to contest elections.

The MQM — the fourth largest group in parliament — is also required to submit details of its accounts to the ECP to become eligible to contest the polls. The party has been submitting the accounts details for the past 10 years, but its statement for year 2010 is still pending, according to the ECP.

The PML-Z, led by Ijazul Haq, has also not submitted the statement of accounts.

Besides them, the Millat Party (which has now been merged into the PML-Q), Sindh National Front, MMA, BNP-A, Sindh Democratic Alliance and Jamiat Mashaikh Pakistan are among the parties and alliances which have neither held election of their office-bearers nor submitted details of their accounts.

It was after the issuance of a similar warning by the ECP in December that the PPP, registered as PPP-Parliamentarians, fulfilled the requirement of party election by announcing on Jan 26 that all its office-bearers had returned unopposed.

The fresh ECP list does not contain the name of the PPP, thus implying that the party had submitted the certificate of the intra-party election, though held only on paper.

Meanwhile, PTI chief Imran Khan expressed his concern over the ECP’s act of accepting “dummy elections” held by some parties, saying that no elections had been held by those parties and mere nominations had been made.

“There was no election and all nominations were made behind closed doors by a handful of people. These were not elections, but selection and nominations. Such elections are actually a part of the rotten political culture which has taken Pakistan to the verge of collapse,” he said. “The whole world laughs when politicians who don’t hold party elections talk about democracy.”

Mr Khan, whose party is in the process of completing its elections, said: “Those not holding elections and making nominations in their parties actually are like monarchs who believe in dictatorship and autocracy. They are worse than dictators.”

The ECP has advised the parties to submit the statements of accounts as well as certificates regarding elections so as to become entitled to get election symbols for the general election.

 

[UmarJustice]

Dissolving ECP out of question

The second day of the Supreme Court proceedings in a petition seeking reconstitution of the Election Commission of Pakistan was also consumed in the preliminaries with the three-judge bench urging Dr Tahirul Qadri to first establish his locus standi before presenting arguments in support of his contention.

The three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said if they allowed a dual citizen to challenge a constitutional institution, then tomorrow another dual national would approach the apex court with a petition against strategic installations.

At one stage, Dr Qadri told the court that his petition was quo warranto, which brings the respondents under obligation to prove how they are holding their offices in the ECP. But the chief justice immediately said that the quo warranto was beyond the apex court’s scope and that the petitioner would have to approach the relevant forum.

At the end of the proceedings, the Pakistan Awami Tehrik chairman said while talking to journalists that the court was within its right to ask as many questions as it thinks are necessary before making up its mind about the plausibility and substance of the arguments and coming up with a verdict which will have far-reaching consequences.

During the hearing, Justice Gulzar Ahmed remarked that dual nationals have no right to approach the court and challenge the strategic assets or foreign and monetary policies, or attack the constitutional institutions. He said Dr Qadri had come to Pakistan after a long time and wanted to change the political scenario, which would not be allowed.

Dr Qadri submitted in the court his concise statement and the notification about his Canadian citizenship.

The chief justice said according to his own statement the petitioner uses Canadian passport for travel outside Pakistan, which clearly means that (at that time) he is a foreign national, not a Pakistani. “We have great anxiety because for an ordinary citizen it may be alright, but it does not suit a person of his (Qadri’s) stature.”

No Muslim country gives oath of allegiance to a person who wants to become its national. Article 5 of the Constitution demands loyalty to the state and obedience to the Constitution, said the chief justice, adding that a Pakistani should be a Pakistani wherever he may be, but you have taken oath to show allegiance to Queen Elizabeth and her successors.

The chief justice further said that the bench would also like to know when the petitioner had first got the news about the constitution of Election Commission. “In June”, replied the petitioner. On this, the chief justice said the petitioner came to Pakistan in December but he moved the court in February.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed suggested: “Your allegiance is divided. Your allegiance to that country (Canada) is more than to Pakistan”.

The CJ said: “How can we dissolve the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which has prepared the electoral rolls and organised by-elections? Little time is left for the upcoming general elections and we would never allow anyone to derail the democratic system. Much water has flown under the bridges.”

He also made it clear that that concept of martial law has been buried for good and now no one can go for this even if he wants to.

The CJ said the Election Commission of Pakistan, established under 18th Amendment had held the by-elections which were validated under the 20th Amendment. The ECP has not only prepared the electoral lists but has done many other things. The politicians who became members of Parliament as a result of the elections held under the ECP had not challenged the polls body’s composition. Similarly, he said, nobody else has questioned the status of the ECP.

He said this was being done by a person who was not eligible to become a parliamentarian because of the bar under Article 63(1)(c) and who had sworn allegiance to Queen Elizabeth and his successors.

“Do you have precedents to support your argument regarding locus standi,” the court asked. On this, Dr Qadri referred to the judgments in cases of Shela Zia, Malik Asad Ali, Shahid Orakzai and Dr Mubashir Hassan.

The court said none of them is a foreign national.

When Dr Qadri, instead of listening to the court, spoke a bit loudly Justice Azmat Saeed asked him whether he had come for a debate with the judges. The judge said there was a court decorum, which everybody was supposed to observe.

Dr Qadri said Article 51(2) talks about the qualification of voter, which he fulfills and in that capacity has right to file this petition. The chief justice said there was no cavil with this provision. But when you are outside Pakistan you are foreign national, there you present yourself as a Canadian citizen. Qadrisaid Shafqatullah Sohail, a Canadian citizen, had filed petition in the memo scam. The court questioned him to show it the order about his locus standi.

The bench will resume the hearing on Wednesday (today).

Dissolving ECP out of question | The Nation

 

[Edevelop]

 

[Khalidr]

I can see that still there are supporters of PPP and PML-N.. lol what u peoples achieved from these two.
Sleeping heads votes for them.

 

[SQ8]

I can see that still there are supporters of PPP and PML-N.. lol what u peoples achieved from these two.
Sleeping heads votes for them.

Depends on their perspective.
IK as a person may have achievements.. his party has zilch.
People see the motorway..and other schemes from a Party perspective.

 

[Devil Soul]

50,000 observers to monitor upcoming polls across Pakistan
By APP
Published: February 25, 2013
RAWALPINDI: To help ensure free and fair elections in the country, as many as 50,000 local and independent observers will monitor the polls across the country, said District Election Commissioner (DEC) Zahid Subhani on Monday.
According to Subhani, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will issue accreditation cards to these observers selected from different parts of the country.
A call centre will also be set up where the observers can contact and report any violation of election rules and regulations, he added.
Subhani was speaking at a consultative dialogue organised by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) in connection with the forthcoming general elections.
The DEC said close circuit television (CCTV) cameras will also be installed at sensitive polling stations to avoid any untoward incident.
The commissioner said that the voters’ list has been updated, while the ECP teams are visiting door to door to include name of each and every eligible person in the final list. He added that “the team will continue to register missing eligible voters name in the list till the announcement of the election date.”

 

[BATMAN]

Results are announced, as per mutual agreement.. fake observers.

First, we need to follow the basic qualification criteria of ECP, than candidates and than observers.

I can see that still there are supporters of PPP and PML-N.. lol what u peoples achieved from these two.
Sleeping heads votes for them.

I don't see a single supporter for PPP but i do see supporter of PML-N.
To defeat these to moron parties... Pakistanis have been left with PTI.
Shall we call it fair elections or forced upon elections.

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[Leader]

 

[Leader]

bechara Saad Rafique...


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[Leader]

 

[Leader]

 

[Leader]

 

[Leader]

 

[RazorMC]

With all due respect to all political parties, I believe that despite all the talk of change and dharnas and everything, PPP/PML(N)/MQM will be able to take a majority of the votes simply because they work with those powerful individuals who can get people out of their homes to actually vote.

Just my opinion though, but PTI should be given a chance to fulfill their promises. How long can we keep supporting those 3 white elephants ??