Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has expressed its resentment over non-compliance of the recommendations of inquiry commission formed to probe rigging in elections 2013.

“Unfortunately no substantial steps have been taken to address this very important and serious issue which has the potential to threaten the roots of our democratic system as well as the candidates in the electoral process,” the court said.

The court also observed that over the past many elections, there have been allegations of pre-polled rigging and use of illegal practices during polling.

“Such allegations should have resulted in significant changes in the relevant laws as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan protocols to address such concerns,” the court said.

The observations regarding the lacunas in electoral laws to curb the opportunities of illegal practices and rigging were made in a 20-page judgement over election petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar who remained runner up in general elections in Sialkot NA-110.

The court has already dismissed Dar’s petition in which he challenged the election results of NA-110.

In a detailed judgement authored by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, the court observed that free, fair and transparent elections are absolutely necessary for the success of the system in a democratic state.

The judgment also observed that the will of the electorate has to be respected and unless there is irrefutable evidence to show that the election was systematically rigged by a candidate through the use of illegal or corrupt practices, the will of the people cannot and should not be interfered with.

The court observed that even if there may have been negligence or inefficiency on the part of the election staff, such acts and omissions did not occur on account of any act of Khawaja Asif.

On the reports submitted by NADRA, the court held that the same are not conclusive, in view of the fact that a number of thumb impressions could not be verified on account of their poor quality. The report provides no indications in whose favour such votes were cast.

“It would therefore be neither just nor proper to exclude all such votes from the total number of votes case in favor of the returned candidate in the absence of any evidence that all or how many such votes were cast in his favor,” the judgement said. The court held that PMLN’s Khawaja Asif would still remain ahead of PTI’s Usman Dar by more than 15,000 votes even if the invalid votes were to exclude from the final count. The court further ruled that Dar failed to bring on record any credible and legally acceptable evidence to prove the allegations of illegal practices on the part of Asif before or during the election process.

The court said Dar failed to prove that the election machinery did not comply with the provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act and its rules, and such non compliance materially affected the result of the election thereby justifying its declaration as void.