Election Commission of Pakistan introduces new code of conduct

An ordinary or middle class citizen cannot dream of representing the people in the parliament, as election has become the game of millionaires in the country.

However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) under the directives of Supreme Court issued a new set of rules that political parties and independent candidates would have to follow in the coming elections.

The commission fixed Rs 1.5 million as maximum expenditure limit for the campaign to the national assembly and one million rupees for a provincial assembly.

The new set of rules also regulates the use of loudspeaker, banners and posters for promotion, holding of meetings, transporting voters and supporters. In violation of any rule of the commission, strict action can be taken against the candidates.

A small segment of politicians have already described the new set of rules as being unrealistic. They were of the view that this code will merely be disregarded if it doesn’t reflect the experience of those involved in campaigning itself.

For instance, they explained the issue of transporting voters to the polling stations, which is being prohibited by the commission.

They were of opinion that certain measures will have to be taken to implement the rule as public transport is not available in all parts of the country. The government will have to be provided state-sponsored transport or more polling booths in the close distance.

The commission can disregard proposals of political parties that would give certain parties an advantage and incorporate objective advice that is informed by politicians’ actual experience of campaigning in the country. Presently, it is the right moment to carry out this process.

In the next phase, the government and opposition will have to finalize certain issues including the selection of Chief Election Commissioner, an interim setup and the schedule of the general elections.

In order to modify the code of conduct to ensure transparency and fairness, the two parties can give input on campaign regulations. Without any doubt, the Election Commission of Pakistan will be real authority in the country in the upcoming elections.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=27488

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jun 29 2012. Filed under Opinion, Pakistan, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.