The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that 180 million people of Pakistan wanted fair and free elections in the country therefore ‘there should not be delay’ from by any quarter.

Heading a three-member bench hearing implementation matter of SC judgment in Workers Party case, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said reiterated that they would not allow delay of general election at any cost.The bench, which included Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Azmat Saeed, observed that real representative government in the country could only be formed when the elections are held in free and fair manner.

Appearing on behalf of federation, Deputy Attorney General Dil Muhammad Alizai said that all hurdles would be removed for holding fair elections.The DAG said that he received court orders late therefore he could not seek instructions from the law secretary and sought time to file the federation’s reply.

ECP counsel Munir Paracha furnished details of all the steps being taken for arranging free and fair election. He informed that a request has been made to the federal government for legislation, including amendment in Section 104 of the Representation of the People Act, 1996 (ROPA), by insertion of Section 104B, but the government has shown reservations on it.

According to proposed Section 104B, The commission will appoint teams of monitors for a constituency or a group of constituencies to monitor election campaign of the candidates who would report any violations of the code of conduct by the candidates on daily basis to the District Returning Officer, who will proceed in accordance with the provisions of Section 86B(1) of the Act.

Bilal Hassan Minto, counsel for petitioner, pointed out that the ECP proposed amendment relates to one of the observations of the apex court in Workers Party case. He said according to it, “The Election Commission is empowered to check not just illegal actions relating to the election (violating the limits set for campaign finance, etc.) or corrupt practices (bribery, etc.), but is also empowered to review all election activities, including Jalsas, Jaloos, use of loudspeakers, etc. for their effects on the standards of ‘fairness, justness and honesty’.”

Hamid Khan, counsel for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporting Mr Bilal’s point of view contended that under Article 218(3) of constitution, the commission is charged with making arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, freely and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against.

The court observed that the amendment being sought is already part of the judgment and it has a binding force on all concerned, including the candidates, voters and the citizens who all are interested in ensuring that the country is governed by the chosen representatives. “To guard against corrupt practices, the government should not have objection in this behalf as it is the requirement of the constitution.”

The court directed ECP counsel to obtain further instructions from the commission. He was also directed to bifurcate these details, one part showing the steps which are to be implemented in pursuance of the court judgment for which no legislation is called for, while a separate portion should carry those directions, observations and improvements that the commission wants on its own to achieve the objective under Article 218(3) of the constitution. The case was adjourned until March 14.

Meanwhile, the bench sought para-wise report from the ECP to ensure voting rights to overseas Pakistanis in the forthcoming general elections.The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) was also directed to complete the process of issuance of English language National Identity Cards to Overseas Pakistanis.

The chief justice said that in its February 14, 2013 order, the court had already directed the ECP to make all possible efforts to ensure overseas Pakistanis become an integral part of the country’s electoral and voting system through the implementation of voter registration procedures and the establishment of voting facilities at Pakistani missions overseas.