ludUO

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Administration of justice
The Election Commission too received SC’s directives.
(ECP) request for an extension of the deadline for the publication of the final
list of voters beyond February 23, 2012. Noting that 37 million votes in the list
could not be verified the court observed that free and fair polls were not
possible without updating of the electoral rolls. The pressure on the ECP resulted
in its secretary’s decision to resign his job but after a few months he set some
kind of a record by returning to his position, apparently determined to act
more vigorously. The issue of updating the voters’ list was resolved.
Later in the year the court ordered door-to-door verification of voters’ list
and demarcation of constituencies in Karachi. While the former order was
duly carried out, though not without a heated response from MQM, the latter
order remained unimplemented till the end of the year.
A more substantial order, this one about election expenses, came in the
middle of the year on a petition by the President of the Workers’ Party.
The SC ordered the ECP to monitor election expenses with a view to
discouraging extravagance, show of wealth, power and pageantry. The points
made in the order were:
♦ Each candidate should deposit the amount allowed for his contest in a
scheduled bank and all election expenses must be met out of that account.
♦ The ‘First Past the Post’ system violates the principle of election by a
majority of voters. The ECP should explore ways of ensuring true representation
of the people and rule of majority in all legislatures.
♦ The ECP should take steps to make voting compulsory.
♦ The number of polling stations should be increased and the distance
between a polling station and the residences of voters should not be more than
two kilometres.
♦ In place of the ‘parchi’ issued by candidates’ camps the ECP should