{"id":37574,"date":"2023-12-20T04:17:04","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T04:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/pbc-scba-cast-doubt-over-fair-elections-under-incumbent-cec-daily-times\/"},"modified":"2023-12-20T04:17:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T04:17:04","slug":"pbc-scba-cast-doubt-over-fair-elections-under-incumbent-cec-daily-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/pbc-scba-cast-doubt-over-fair-elections-under-incumbent-cec-daily-times\/","title":{"rendered":"PBC, SCBA cast doubt over fair elections under incumbent CEC &#8211; Daily Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1153089 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytimes.com.pk\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Untitledgggddddd.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"450\"\/>Top lawyers\u2019 bodies of the country \u2013 Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) \u2013 have expressed distrust in Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja for holding free and transparent elections slated for February 8 next year.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement on Tuesday, PBC Vice-Chairman Haroon-ur-Rashid and Chairman Executive Committee Hassan Raza Pasha asserted the crucial need for the general elections to proceed as planned on February 8, 2024. They emphasise the necessity of all political parties and independent candidates to be provided a level playing field and equal opportunities, ensuring transparency and fairness in the electoral process.<\/p>\n<p>While expressing their serious concerns over the conduct of the CEC, regarding election procedures, delimitations, and seat allocations, they \u201chighlighted the growing perception that in the presence of the incumbent CECP, elections cannot be conducted freely and transparently\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The PBC cited a \u201cglaring example\u201d of the allocation of two National Assembly seats to the CEC\u2019s own native district Jhelum, with a population of 1,382,000 approximately while district Hafizabad, with a population of around 320,000 is allocated only one seat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA similar imbalance is observed in the allocation of seats for District Rawalpindi. Despite its lower population compared to Gujranwala Division, an additional seat has been allocated, raising questions about the transparency of the electoral process,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<p>The PBC said it is evident that the conduct of CEC Raja raises serious doubts about the integrity of the general elections, \u201cpresenting an environment that appears to lack transparency entirely\u201d. In light of these circumstances, the PBC said it cannot turn a blind eye to these critical matters. The lawyers\u2019 body also called upon the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of these discrepancies \u201cinstead of endorsing every act\u201d of the CEC. \u201cThe PBC firmly believes that the primary objective is not merely holding elections but conducting them in a free, fair, and transparent manner, providing equal opportunities to all stakeholders.\u201d The PBC said it will soon convene an all Pakistan representative convention to formulate and announce a line of action and date for a lawyers\u2019 movement in consultation with SCBA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe aim is to ensure the cause of free, fair, and transparent general elections which is not possible in the presence of the incumbent Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan, as it seems, he has different codes for every political party or individual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Responding to allegations, a spokesperson for the ECP said no new seat was carved out in the native constituency of the CEC. In a statement, the ECP spokesperson said CEC Raja\u2019s home constituency is NA-182 in Sargodha. The ECP will not \u201cbow to any pressure or blackmailing,\u201d the statement added. In a separate statement, SCBA President Shahrad Shaukat, and Secretary Syed Ali Imran have expressed their deep concern regarding the mounting discrepancies in election procedures, delimitations, and seat allocations and have further raised serious questions about the transparency of elections under the incumbent CEC.<\/p>\n<p>While emphasising the imperative of holding general elections at its scheduled time, the SCBA underscored the need for a level playing field and equal opportunities for all stakeholders. However, the top lawyers body further expressed concerns about the Election Commission\u2019s competence in terms of rising discrepancies in the electoral process close to upcoming elections which raises valid doubts about jeopardising the fairness and impartiality of the electoral process. \u201cThis association asserts that elections are the cornerstone of the democratic process in the country and must be held on time.\u201d Mere adherence to election timelines without addressing grievances may undermine stability rather than contribute to it, the statement added.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, the SCBA said neglecting to address discrepancies in the electoral process before the polls has not only harmed the country but also risked the failure to achieve meaningful results, imposing a burden on the public exchequer and expending valuable resources. The SCBA said, \u201cin order to achieve the aforesaid objectives, the present chief election commissioner should go home as under him, fair and impartial elections with equal opportunity for all, are not possible\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><!-- AI CONTENT END 2 -->\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top lawyers\u2019 bodies of the country \u2013 Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) \u2013 have expressed distrust in Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja for holding free and transparent elections slated for February 8 next year. In a statement on Tuesday, PBC Vice-Chairman Haroon-ur-Rashid and Chairman Executive Committee Hassan Raza [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dailytimes.com.pk\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Untitledgggddddd.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-updates-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}