Punjab Govt Will Support ECP for Free and Fair Elections

The Supreme Court has received assurances from Punjab’s chief secretary that the province will assist the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in holding free and fair elections on February 8.

The chief secretary said that the province administration has followed all directives from the Punjab election commissioner and ECP in letter and spirit in a response that was sent to the supreme court on Saturday. He also said that complaints from political parties had been handled in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

The reply was furnished in response to the court’s Jan 3 order for the chief secretary and the inspector general of police to furnish a report on whether the directives issued by the provincial election commission to them were complied with, and if not, then explain the reason for not doing so.

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The reply said all interested candidates were able to file nomination papers without any hindrance, adding that no illegal arrest/detention of any contesting candidate or their proposers or seconders was made.

It said that personal visits by the ROs to polling stations were und­e­r­way to ensure the availability of essential facilities there like electricity, water, boundary walls, etc.

Likewise, it added, district control rooms had been established for monitoring/coordination and redressal of the grievances of contesting candidates. Moreover, districts have started procuring CCTV cameras for installation at all highly sensitive polling stations.

The reply said that information rela­ted to electoral process had also been made public in accordance with the election rules.