ISLAMABAD: In response to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s statement about the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) money, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz has opened a new Pandora’s box.
Following a federal cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the information minister told reporters that it is critical for the ECP to hold all scheduled by-elections using electronic voting machines (EVMs) following the passage of the new electoral law. He stated that if the ECP fails to do so, the government will be unable to distribute cash under the law.
Faraz denied that the federal cabinet had decided to stop the ECP from receiving funds. “The ministers had a casual discussion [over the issue] while Prime Minister Imran Khan was offering Zuhr prayers,” he said on Geo News ‘Capital Talk’ with a discussion panel that included Muhammad Zubair, former Sindh governor, and Maryam Nawaz’s representative, and Ansar Abbasi, The News Editor Investigation.
Faraz believes Fawad’s comments have received “unnecessary media attention.”
Zubair called Faraz’s statement “a very significant issue” and criticized the government’s decision-making process in response.”
“As Fawad Chaudhry briefed the media, we all know that the cabinet has reached this decision,” the PML-N leader remarked. “However, he [Shibli] now claims that the cabinet made the decision when the premier was not present. This is a significant problem.”
It is a significant matter because the cabinet took such a vital decision in the absence of the Prime Minister, which the Prime Minister does not own, Zubair noted.
Faraz, on the other hand, claims that no such decision was taken.
A more significant development, according to Faraz, is the PM’s establishment of a cabinet-ratified committee to address all electoral impediments in the implementation of electoral rules.
“The Prime Minister convened a ministerial group, which included Babar Awan, Azam Swati, Aminul Haq, and Pakistan’s attorney general, to assist the electoral commission in holding free and fair elections using EVMs.”
Following the passage of legislation governing the use of EVMs, the PM wants the government to cooperate with the ECP to resolve their issues in holding elections using EVMs, according to the federal minister.
He also stated that the commission has recommended that the Centre construct testing laboratories and storage warehouses, as well as training support from the government.
Faraz stated that the ECP is a constitutional organization whose primary mission is to hold free, fair, and transparent elections and that it is the current government’s responsibility to meet the requirements and give all legal help.
According to him, the administration sought to make the electoral process more transparent by using EVMs, which would assist the country hold free, fair, and transparent elections.
The opposition, according to the minister, is unwilling to endorse the government’s use of contemporary technology in elections because it knows it will eliminate any opportunities for rigging.
He claimed that the PML-N and PPP had always won elections by fraudulent means because both parties were notorious for poll irregularities.
In response to a question, he stated that the ECP has not ruled out the use of electronic voting machines for the elections.
All by-elections and local body elections, he argued, should be held using current technology.
He claimed that the PML-N had constantly pushed their personal businesses while in power, but done little to improve the country or its people.
ECP is required by law to hold by-polls using EVMs in the future: Fawad
The Federal Cabinet on Tuesday considered the ECP as “obligated” to hold all future elections, including by-polls, with EVMs, two weeks after a joint sitting of Parliament passed measures related to electoral reforms.
