Bogus voter lists’ case: Supreme Court asks ECP to verify voter lists in Karachi with army help

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to verify voters in Karachi by conducting a door-to-door check with the help of the army and the frontier constabulary.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had reserved its verdict on November 28 over the petitions pertaining to the issue filed by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), claiming that around 300,000 votes of people in Karachi were registered outside the city.

Justice Azmat Saeed, the member of the bench, read the verdict comprising 24 pages on Tuesday. In the verdict, the apex court said that it was necessary to correct the list in the city. The bench also directed the ECP to seek the army and the FC’s help during door-to-door verification process.

The order said that the army and Rangers could be used in this verification campaign as their involvement would help the authorities in resolving the law and order issue the commercial hub of the country.

Votes should not be transferred from one area to another without the voters’ consent, the bench said in its short order. The ruling further stated that it was up to the discretion every citizen as to where they want to cast their vote.

The text of the verdict reads, “Fair, free, honest and just elections are since qua non for strengthening of democracy. To achieve this goal, accurate preparation/revision of electoral roll is immediately required to be undertaken by the Election Commission through credible and independent agencies. In so doing, the commodious ways and means of merely depending upon NADRA alone or other similar bodies must be discontinued forthwith.”

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=35718

Posted by Web Desk on Dec 5 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. 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.