ISLAMABAD: Director Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) I.A. Rehman on Sunday said the experiment to appoint a retired judge as the chief election commissioner had not been successful. He said retired judges were too old to deal with election issues. Mr Rehman was speaking at a national conference, ‘Pakistani democracy: potential, promises and performance’ organised by the Centre for Civic Education Pakistan (CCEP). “A person belonging to the civil society, a professional, technocrat or well-reputed political fi gure can be considered for the post of the chief election commissioner,” he said. Moreover, he added, the civil society should also play its role in monitoring the whole election process. In every constituency, there are over 230 polling stations due to which sometimes it becomes impossible for the candidates to depute polling agents there. In African countries, the civil society fi lls the gap if candidates fail to depute their polling agents, he said. CCEP Executive Director Zafarullah Khan said media should play its role in creating awareness among citizens about the importance of elections and its effects on the development of the country. “There is also a need to improve relationship between the ordinary Pakistanis and their Constitution and develop an understanding of the Constitution,” he said. Dr Jaffer Ahmed and Dr Nasser Ali Khan emphasised introduction of fi nancial reforms in order to improve the electoral process. They suggested that a civic education desk should be established in each public sector organisation and department for better understanding of the Constitution. Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014Dawn News
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 02:21:12 +0000
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