3:27 AM
ISLAMABAD: New electoral rolls for the 2013 elections cannot be finalised before May this year, said Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza on Monday.
During a meeting of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and political parties, Mirza explained why the commission was unable to comply with Supreme Court’s order to finalise the electoral rolls by February 23.
Mirza said that the responsibilities of every institution are chalked out clearly in the Constitution, and unnecessary interference of institutions results in anarchy. He added that the task of finalising new electoral rolls should remain with the ECP without interference from any institution.
He also said that if the electoral rolls were not finalised as per the law then it will be held against the Constitution.
In December last year, the Supreme Court ordered the commission to wrap up the process of finalising the electoral rolls and gave a final deadline of February 23. The order was handed out during the hearing of a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, who had asked the court to remove fake votes from the electoral rolls.
The ECP in a statement had also admitted that some 37 million votes were bogus and could not be verified.
Posted in: NATIONAL
