CEC orders inquiry into system failure in 2018 general elections

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja on Monday ordered an inquiry into the failure of the Results Transmission System (RTS) in the 2018 general elections in the country.

Chairing a meeting of representatives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in Islamabad, the CEC said that reasons for failure of the RTS must be ascertained. Participants in the meeting were briefed about the use of the RTS in the 2018 general elections. On this occasion, the CEC ordered an inquiry into the failure of the RTS in the 2018 general elections.

At the meeting, the ECP and Nadra signed an agreement to share the data of the people who got their computerised national identity cards recently. The ECP proposed that under provision 25 of the 2017 Elections Act Nadra should not be paid for the data of new voters it would provide to the ECP. On this, the Nadra chairman said that his organisation not only provides the ECP data of newly registered citizens, but also extends technical support to the election authority. He said that Nadra is an autonomous organisation and it does not receive any funding from the government.

In his concluding remarks, the CEC said that he has heard both ECP and Nadra officials’ views and now the issues between the two national institutions would be sorted out at a separate meeting.