Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto raises several concerns with the Election Commission

Reiterates demand for Voter lists in electronic format

Islamabad, 25 June 2007: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has reiterated the demand for voters lists in electronic format asking the Chief Election Commission of Pakistan to fulfil the promise and the constitutional obligation of holding fair elections so that "Pakistan can stand tall in the comity of Nations as having made the transition to democracy by accepting true will of the people".

She said this in a letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner that was delivered to him in the office by Amir Fida Pirach MPA.

The letter was in response to the June 20 letter of the Election Commission to Mohtarma Bhutto giving reply to the June 16 letter of Chairperson PPP on the issue of voters lists in which she had asked that the lists be put on the web page of Election Commission and also provide a nationwide electoral list to the PPP in electronic format.

She said that the answers given by the EC in its letter of June 20 failed to remedy the defects pointed out in her letter of June 16, 2007 adding "The PPP has a different view and would like the ECP's decisions reviewed".

She said that the PPP finds it impossible to verify voters lists in hard copies in 45,000 centres across the Country. Moreover reports indicate that the lists are either not available or the most display centres are not open in up to 40 percent of the centres.

Secondly, with the generous money given by USAID for computerization of the electoral rolls, the political parties would like copies of those electoral rolls both at the preliminary and final stages, she said adding that the law does not forbid the ECP from doing so. The ECP broke with past practice when it took money from donors to prepare electronic rolls. Therefore it can also break with past practice to provide electronic copies of the electoral rolls to the stakeholders who are the political parties and civil society, she said.

She also said that the law does not bar the ECP from placing provisional or final voters lists on its Webpage. Judicial discretion can be used to further transparency where the law is silent on an issue, she said.

She said that the fact that the ECP intends to put voters lists on the Website is welcome. Since the ECP is receiving funds from international donors, we would like the fee for providing the lists waived, she said. At that stage, however, we will not be left with time to run verification tests and remedy the flaws, she said.

"Voters need to know where to go to cast their votes. Therefore we would like to have on the ECP Web page well in advance the name of the voter against their area and the name of the area against the polling station where the voter is to cast vote. We would like any changes made to the location of polling stations and the change of the area assigned to a polling station posted on the Web page"

She said that the law does not prevent the ECP from providing draft electoral rolls to the political parties. "If the PPP is mistaken, kindly inform us of the law which the ECP is relying as well as the wording of that law if possible within a week".

She expressed concern that an estimated 27 million plus voters names have not been entered in the electoral rolls on the grounds that they do not have a NADRA Identity card. However, they do have other government issued identity cards, she said.

"Article 51 (2) of the Constitution of Pakistan gives the right to vote to every adult Pakistani. Section 6 of the Electoral Rolls Act 1974 also enjoins upon the Registration Officer the very obligation to enroll as a voter, a citizen of Pakistan who is not less than 18 years. Such enrolment is not dependant upon the prior production of NADRA ID card. Electoral rolls in Section 8 of the Act ibid does not postulate any condition of non entry in such list.

"A division bench of the Lahore High Court struck down an amendment in the Representation of Peoples Act 1976, when in Section 33 it was provided that the voter shall not be issued the ballot paper unless he produces National Identity Card, (PLD 1989 Lah.1) as it was found contrary to the constitutional right of citizen of Pakistan. Even the Apex Court (SC) held that the constitutional right cannot be whittled down by any subordinate legislation (1985 SCMR 365).

"The Representation Act 1973 does not carry any stipulation to make it pre-requisite for registration of vote or right of franchise of a citizen of Pakistan. The entire edifice of Parliamentary democracy and the 1973 Constitution depends upon facilitating the eligible people of Pakistan to cast their votes. I recall that the late Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had directed the free issuance of National Identity Cards which practice continued during his tenure. It would be proper that free National Identity Cards are made available to all eligible citizens of Pakistan.

"Missing Voters: The 2002 voters list enrolled 71.86 million voters. This should have increased to 82 million. Instead a shortfall of 27 million slashes 33% voters in the draft computerized voters lists. This is an alarming state of affairs.

"The PPP asks that judicial discretion be exercised by the ECP on the side of the framers of the constitution and the internationally recognized right of universal right to vote. An election with one-third of the voters debarred from voting would not be fair. Kindly take steps to rectify this", the letter said.