Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja faced the ire of the country's top lawyer bodies - the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA), who raised concerns over the producer of the elections and Raja's conduct, Dawn reported.
The top bodies representing the legal fraternity stressed the need for a level playing field and equal opportunities for all stakeholders in the general election scheduled to be held on February 8. In separate statements, the SCBA and PBC demanded the incumbent CEC to step down, expressing distrust in his ability to hold free and fair elections.
SCBA President Shahzad Shaukat and Secretary Syed Ali Imran expressed strong concerns over “mounting discrepancies in election procedures, delimitations and seat allocation” during the 26th executive committee of the association. They also raised "serious questions about the transparency of elections" under Raja.
These discrepancies in the electoral process raised questions on the competence of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and raised valid doubts about possibly threatening the fairness and impartiality of the election procedure, they argued. The SCBA also asserted that "elections are the cornerstone of the democratic process in the country and must be held on time".
“SCBA believes that to achieve the aforesaid objectives, the present CEC should go home as under him, fair and impartial elections with equal opportunity for all, are not possible,” it said, further stressing the need for polls to be conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.
Other bodies on Pakistan's CEC
Meanwhile, PBC Chairman Hasan Raza Pasha and Vice Chairman Haroonur Rashid evoked similar concerns and remarked that free and fair elections could not be held under Raja's tenure, highlighting an apparent imbalance in the allocation of seats. "It is evident that the conduct of the CEC raises serious doubts about the integrity of the general elections, presenting an environment that appears to lack transparency entirely,” they said in a statement.
The PBC also called on the Pakistani Supreme Court to take note of such discrepancies and not endorse every act of the CEC, stressing the need to provide equal opportunities for all stakeholders. "The aim is to ensure the cause of free, fair and transparent general elections which is not possible in the presence of incumbent CEC, as it seems, he has different codes for every political party or individual," said the council.
Additionally, the SHCBA expressed “serious concerns” over Raja's conduct with relation to election procedures, delimitation and seat allocations while highlighting the “growing perception” that transparent polls could not be conducted in Raja’s presence, saying that it presents "an environment that appears to lack transparency and fair play".
ECP rejects allegations of seat allocation
Responding to the allegations, the ECP denied allocating additional seats to CEC Raja's hometown. "The commission has expressed that it cannot allocate additional seats on the personal wishes of any individual,” the ECP said, adding that the watchdog would not be pressurised or blackmailed by anyone.
The allegations come after several petitions have been filed in Pakistan's Supreme Court challenging the delimitation of constituencies, especially in Balochistan. The top court had ruled out objections against the delimitations after the election schedule was passed.
Notably, the Pakistan National Assembly had 342 seats-- 272 of which are directly elected, 60 are reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities. According to the country's constitution, at least 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities are allocated to the political parties as per their proportional representation.
After fresh delimitation, the National Assembly (NA) would consist of 336 seats, including 266 general seats, 60 seats reserved for women, and 10 for non-Muslims, a decrease of six seats overall.
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