EC wants 3-yr jail for obstructing journos on election duty
The Election Commission wants a penalty of up to three years in jail and a fine for obstructing media workers on duty during elections.
For this, the EC recently proposed that a provision be added to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), the national election-related law, Election Commissioner Ahsan Habib Khan told reporters yesterday.
Speaking at the Election Commission, he said journalists were the "eyes and ears of the EC", and the EC sent the proposal to the law ministry for journalists' safety.
"If someone obstructs journalists from performing their duties, harasses them, tries to damage their equipment, a provision for a minimum of one year and maximum of three years' jail has been kept [in the proposal]. Apart from this, provision for imposing fines has also been kept," he said.
There have been repeated instances of attacks on journalists by candidates and their supporters.
The EC used to issue special identity cards to journalists to facilitate the coverage of national and local government elections on polls day.
Despite having the cards, journalists have faced non-cooperation from members of law enforcement agencies while entering polling stations.
This is the first time that the Election Commission has taken the initiative to bring the matter under the law. However, it is not certain whether it will eventually become part of the law.
Since August, the EC finalised several amendment proposals to the RPO and sent them to the Ministry of Law.
The ministry will scrutinise them and send them to the Cabinet Division for approval. If the division gives its nod, the proposals will be sent to parliament. If it is passed in parliament, only then will the proposals be considered part of the law.
According to EC sources, the proposals include giving EC the power to cancel polls and the presiding officer power to close the polls. They also include provisions for punishment for intimidation of candidates' agents or preventing them from entering the polling centre.
According to the existing law, the commission can investigate and take action if any complaint is received during polling.
The EC has proposed a provision that will enable it to suspend the polls' results before publication of the gazette if the commission receives any admissible complaint.
According to the existing law, the EC can cancel the candidature of a candidate if the commission is satisfied after investigating any complaint.
Now, the EC has proposed that after cancellation of candidature, the candidate will not be able to participate in the next elections too.
In response to a question, Ahsan Habib Khan said there will be a sincere effort on the part of the EC to provide closed-circuit cameras in all polling stations in the next parliamentary elections.
"But with this, there is the issue of financial and technical support. If there is a shortfall in the budget allocation, efforts will be made to bring vulnerable centres under the CCTV cameras. But we want to bring the entire election under CCTV cameras," he also said.
Comments