Ijaz Anwar Chohan directs DMOs to carry out indiscriminate action against violators of ECP’s code of conduct


LAHORE/ISLAMABAD, Jan 21 (SABAH): Provincial Election Commissioner of Punjab Ijaz Anwar Chohan has directed District Monitoring Officers to carry out indiscriminate action against violators of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s code of conduct.

As per the spokesperson of the Election Commission Punjab, the District Monitoring Officer in Bhakar has issued directives for the cancellation of the tender and issued a letter to the Chief Officer of District Council Bhakar.

The District Monitoring Officer issued notices to PP 136 candidate Ahmed Chatta and candidates of Nankana Sahib, Shazra Mansab, Rana Arshad, and Agha Ali, while fined Rs 50 thousand to NA-75 candidate Daniyal Aziz. Notices were also issued to PP-265 and NA-143 candidates.

Meanwhile the Election Commission of Pakistan has categorized over 17,500 polling stations as highly sensitive, 32,508 as sensitive, and 42,500 as normal out of a total of 92,500 polling stations nationwide.

Polling stations are categorized into A, B, and C groups, determined by their sensitivity levels.

From over 17,500 polling stations designated as highly sensitive across the country due to concerns of potential unrest, 6,599 are in Punjab, and 4,430 are in Sindh, all set to be monitored by CCTV cameras.

A total of 2,038 polling stations in Balochistan and 4,344 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been categorized as highly sensitive.

In Punjab, 15,829 polling stations are classified as sensitive, 8,030 in Sindh, 2,068 in Balochistan, and over 6,000 polling stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fall under the sensitive category. 

Meanwhile the printing of 260 million watermarked ballot papers for the General Elections is in full swing. According to official sources, printing for Balochistan and Sindh constituencies is continuing in Karachi, while for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Islamabad constituencies, the ballot papers are being printed at the government printing office in Islamabad.

Stringent security measures have been implemented at the Printing Corporation premises throughout the ballot paper production process.

The introduction of watermarked ballot papers in the country took place during the 2018 general elections, signifying a notable milestone. Three printing machines, including the Security Printing Corporation, the Pakistan Postal Foundation, and the Printing Corporation of Pakistan, were being used to share the workload for this endeavor.