Many candidates blamed ROs in their constituencies for manipulating results (Forms 47 and 48) while expressing confidence in the results (Form 45) prepared at polling stations. Some alleged that the ROs were under pressure from the establishment, while others claimed that a \u2018winning\u2019 Form 48 was sold to the highest bidder. However, no allegation of foul play could be proved in court, nor does the ECP appear to have initiated an inquiry.<\/p>\n
It is against this backdrop that the ECP\u2019s recommendation becomes significant \u2014 almost a vindication of the allegations that executive officers did not perform their duties in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements. In fact, the report itself suggests that despite comprehensive training, \u201cfirst-time ROs faced certain difficulties in performing the electoral activities\u201d, indicating that the law and rules might not have been enforced as intended. The nature of these \u201cdifficulties\u201d needs further elaboration to ensure they did not \u201cmaterially affect\u201d the result of any constituency. The ECP may also wish to clarify the number of first-time ROs and correlate the alleged irregularities with the constituencies of their appointments.<\/p>\n
But it was not just the na\u00efvet\u00e9 of \u201cfirst-time ROs\u201d that concerned the ECP; it was also their inaccessibility to perform poll duties. While the election law is explicit that any official appointed or deputed to perform election duties \u201cshall be deemed to be under the control, superintendence, and discipline of the Commission\u2026,\u201d these executive officials were not easily accessible to the ECP. \u201c\u2026DROs and ROs, being administrative officers, remained involved in performing their principal duties and were not easily accessible for electoral duties,\u201d reads the report.<\/p>\n
\nThe conduct of judicial officers in Pakistan has not always been above board.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Their inaccessibility is a serious offence and falls within the purview of another provision of the law, whose violation empowers the ECP to take strict punitive measures. If DROs and ROs were not easily accessible for poll duties, they breached Section 55 (3)(e), which bars any official on election duty from disobeying or avoiding compliance with any instruction issued by the ECP. Such inaccessibility goes beyond mere avoidance; it reflects disregard for the direct superintendence of a constitutional entity. Whether the ECP used its powers to penalise the \u201cinaccessible\u201d officials isn\u2019t known.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Instead of invoking its punitive powers to improve enforcement, the ECP has now asked parliament to amend Elections Act, 2017, by adding a provision to sub-section 1(c) of Section 50 binding the chief justices of the high courts to provide judicial officers for appointment as DROs and ROs when requested by the ECP. The binding clause has likely been proposed because the chief justices had refused a similar request by the ECP for GE-2024.<\/p>\n
However, Pakistan\u2019s electoral history shows that the conduct of judicial officers has not always been above board. The PTI, for instance, alleged foul play by ROs drawn from the lower judiciary during GE-2013. Although a subsequent judicial commission led by the then Supreme Court chief justice ruled out allegations of rigging, it acknowledged \u201cshortcomings of the ECP\u201d in conducting the elections, including a disconnect between the ECP and ROs, implying that the latter may have acted independently. The ECP itself noted this in an April 2013 press release after several political parties raised concerns about how ROs were conducting candidate scrutiny.<\/p>\n
The recommendation also raises a constitutional question. Article 220 binds only the executive authorities in the federation and provinces to assist the ECP in the discharge of its functions. Meanwhile, Article 175(3) provides for the separation of the judiciary from the executive. Binding chief justices to comply with the ECP\u2019s requests may then need a constitutional amendment. Moreover, appointing judicial officers as DROs and ROs creates an institutional conflict of interest, as poll petitions are heard \u2014 under the existing law \u2014 by judges of the same high courts whose chief justices would be involved in appointing the lower court judges serving as DROs and ROs.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the ECP has again taken an evasive position in its report, reasoning why it should not take direct responsibility for conducting poll processes at the constituency level. It may not have enough officials to fill all RO positions, but it can certainly appoint DROs from among its own ranks. The ECP should assume direct supervision of electoral processes by appointing district election commissioners as DROs and seek legal reforms to strengthen this position. In their capacity as DROs, DECs can continue to \u201ccoordinate multifarious electoral activities and provide technical assistance\u201d to ROs \u2014 the very justification the ECP has given for not appointing them to roles directly related to the conduct of polls.<\/p>\n
There is ample evidence that the quality of elections managed directly by ECP officials as DROs and ROs is far better than those managed by \u2018borrowed\u2019 officers. Such oversight at the district level is crucial to keeping ROs \u2014 whether drawn from the executive or the judiciary \u2014 in line and ensuring that elections are conducted in accordance with the law and rules. The ECP can best serve its constitutional mandate only when it assumes micro-level supervision of the entire electoral process and uses its punitive powers to ensure full compliance by all officials. Judicial officers are not the panacea for democratic disorder, which remains rooted in the public\u2019s distrust of the electoral process.<\/p>\n
The writer is based in Islamabad and works with the Free and Fair Election Network.<\/em><\/p>\nPublished in Dawn, November 3rd, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s recommendation to parliament that the election law be amended in favour of appointing judicial officers as District Returning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) is nothing short of an adverse comment on the performance of executive officers appointed to these positions to conduct General Election 2024 (GE-2024). 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