Election commissioner's character doubtful, says Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry has Sunday said there is a difference between the election commission and an election commissioner and it is the latter whose character is questionable, ARY News reported.

After being served a notice from ECP for alleging the institution had become a party in the electronic voting machine (EVM) matter and is supporting the opposition, the federal minister said once again that the chief election commissioner (CEC) was representing the opposition parties.

Fawad Chaudhry, alongside other ministers, had alleged during a press conference earlier this week that ECP and CEC were becoming the headquarters of the opposition parties and acting as their mouthpiece.

He said today during a press conference in Islamabad that the CEC has seemingly already decided against the EVM without even considering the report. They scrapped all the supporting arguments in favour of the EVMs from the report to rob it of its substance, he said.

Out of 37 objections raised against EVMs by the report, said Fawad Chaudhry, only 10 were relevant while all others were only added for the purpose to discredit it.

Rigging allegations: ECP serves notices to Fawad Chaudhry, Azam Swati

No matter what happens, the final decision will be taken in the parliament and not in the ECP, he said.

The CEC is running a campaign against EVMs and thus I ask of only two other members of the ECP to come forward and review the report for themselves, said Fawad Chaudhry.

Earlier on Sep 16, the notices were issued after a session of the election commission chaired by the CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja in Islamabad.

On Friday, Federal Minister Azam Swati had accused the election commission of taking bribes from the companies to manufacture EVMs.

“ECP has taken a bribe,” Azam Swati had alleged. “You will go to hell,” he said, pointing to ECP officials who were in attendance in the meeting called to deliberate and vote on two key bills on the use of electronic voting machines in elections and voting rights for overseas Pakistanis.