ECP decides to hold by-polls on eight NA & three Punjab Assembly seats on Oct 16
ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 (SABAH): The Election Commission of Pakistan has decided to hold by-polls on eight National Assembly and three Punjab seats as per schedule on 16th of this month. However, the commission has delayed the by-election in the NA-45 constituency due to security concerns.
The ECP made the decision during a meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr. Sikandar Sultan Raja after the federal and Sindh governments expressed reservations over holding the polls due to a lack of security personnel, among other reasons. Besides the ECP members, the secretaries of the election commission, ministries of interior, defence, and chief secretaries, police chiefs of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh participated in the meeting.
The representatives of security agencies were also present in the meeting.
The CEC emphasised the importance of peaceful conduct of by-elections and local body elections in Karachi Division.
The secretary of the election commission briefed the participants on the preparations and said that the electoral watchdog has completed all the arrangements for the by-election in the nine national assembly and three provincial assembly constituencies.
The preparations for holding second phase of local body elections in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions have also been completed, the official added.
The secretaries of the ministries, chief secretaries, IGs and representatives of other security agencies also stated their position on holding elections in the meeting.
After hearing the position of all officers and representatives, the ECP rejected the request of the Ministry of Interior to postpone the by-election for 90 days and decided to hold by-elections on eight seats of the National Assembly and three seats of the Punjab Assembly at their scheduled time — October 16.
Similarly, the second phase of local body elections in all the districts of Karachi and Hyderabad division will also be held on October 23 as per the schedule.
The constituencies where by-polls will be held include NA-22 Mardan, NA-24 Charsadda, NA-31 Peshawar, NA-108 Faisalabad, NA-118 Nankana Sahib, NA-157 Multan, NA-237 Malir and NA-239 Korangi Karachi.
By-poll in NA-45 Kurram has been postponed due to law and order situation and polling date will be announced later.
The meeting also discussed the second phase of local government elections in Sindh province and decided that polling in all districts of Karachi Division will be held as per schedule on the 23rd of next month.
It is pertinent to mention that on Sunday, In its letter to the ECP, the interior ministry mentioned that the “party” could “besiege” Islamabad between October 12-17, and the date coincides with October 16 on which the by-elections are scheduled to be held.
The letter to ECP further stated that “This would require the maximum deployment of all available troops to maintain peace in the capital city,” the letter read.
The letter also cited the losses incurred and the rise in diseases following the recent catastrophic floods as the reason for the postponement of by-polls.
The ministry mentioned wrote that most resources have been diverted toward relief and rehabilitation efforts across flood-hit areas in the country; therefore, it would put immense strain on government agencies, including the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, Rangers, and other LEAs to utilise its resources and carry the extra work during election duties.
The ministry stated that if security personnel is not placed, it would raise questions on the credibility of the election as per the Constitution s Article 218 clause (3), which mandates the ECP “to organise and conduct the elections and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the elections are conducted honestly, justly, fairly, and in accordance with the law, and that corrupt practices are guarded against”.