Oct 16, 23 polling: ECP asks interior ministry to beef up security

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday wrote a letter to the interior ministry seeking beefed-up security ahead of the by-elections and local body polls in Karachi on October 16 and 23, respectively.

The ECP’s letter was in response to the interior ministry’s request in which it had asked the commission to postpone the said elections following the impact of floods and the possibility of a law and order situation being affected in Islamabad by a political party.

The commission’s letter, written by its secretary Umar Hameed to secretaries of defence and interior, asked for special security arrangements to be made in light of the intelligence agencies’ report.

“Security arrangements should be beefed-up to conduct peaceful elections,” the ECP wrote. The electoral body stated that the provincial administration is responsible for taking necessary steps during the polls.

The ECP mentioned that the current “temperature” in the country’s “political environment is searing”, while flooding has worsened the situation. “Arrangements should be put in place to maintain law and order,” the letter read.

“An adequate number of army, FC, and rangers’ personnel will be there as backup if required,” the ECP informed the ministry adding that police will be assisted by them in sensitive areas. The commission further directed the Quick Response Force to do its work as soon as possible, and also instructed authorities concerned to ensure foolproof security during by-polls to be held in Karachi on October 23.

The ECP also wrote a letter to PTI Chairman Imran Khan regarding elections code of conduct as Imran Khan was reminded that elections campaign should come to end 24 hours before the commencement of the polling and rallies and public gatherings after that time is tanamount to violation of code of conduct.

All preparations for by-elections on six national and three provincial seats to be held on Oct 16 in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been completed. About 21,41,000 people will exercise their right to vote in six by-elections. As many as 1,434 polling stations have been established in six constituencies of the province. Furthermore, 52 candidates from three national and three provincial constituencies will contest in the elections.

A large number of police and rangers will be responsible for maintaining law and order on polling day. The returning officers will hand over the election material to the presiding officers on Oct 15 (today). T

he monitoring teams of the election commission will visit the constituencies on the polling day and review the process. Punjab Election Commissioner Saeed Gul expressed satisfaction over all the arrangements for the by-elections. In a statement, he said that any violation of any code of conduct on the polling day will not be tolerated. He said that strict action would be taken on biased behaviour by the polling staff and officers concerned.

Meanwhile, the election commission has issued a code of conduct for the staff of law enforcement agencies. There are police, Rangers, Quick Response Force, and Pakistan Army personnel who are providing security in the by-election. The security personnel will cooperate with the district returning officers, returning officers and polling staff to maintain law and order. The security staff will perform their duties impartially, fairly, and honestly. The media and other observers who have the permission of the Election Commission will be allowed to enter the polling station. The security staff will ensure the secrecy of the vote, and no one other than the voter will be allowed to go behind the voter screen. The security staff will not ask voters for voter slips. The security staff will follow the orders of the presiding officer and will inform him in the case of any untoward incident. The security staff will not arrest anyone at the polling station without the permission of the presiding officer. The security staff will maintain law and order inside and outside the polling stations, especially during the counting process.

Meanwhile, a tough competition is expected for the three National Assembly seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the by-polls as all the political parties concluded their campaign on Friday.

All the 979 polling stations in the three constituencies have been declared sensitive and most sensitive due to the law and order situation as well as tension between the rival parties. The polling for the three seats will be held on Sunday.

By-elections will be held in three constituencies in KP, including NA-22 Mardan, NA-24 Charsadda and NA-31 Peshawar. The polls in NA-45 Kurram has been postponed due to the law and order situation.

The seats fell vacant after the resignations of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNAs Ali Muhammad Khan, Fazal Mohammad Khan and Shaukat Ali. The competition is tough as the opposition alliance has fielded joint candidates against Imran Khan, the chairman of the PTI.

Imran Khan had announced contesting the polls from all the constituencies in the by-polls in a bid to prove his popularity across the country.

More focus is on NA-24 Charsadda in the by-polls where provincial president of Awami National Party Aimal Wali Khan is flexing muscles against the PTI chairman. He is being supported by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Aimal has yet to become a member of either national or provincial assembly. The PTI had won the seat with a big margin in the last general election. Speakers including senior leaders from both the sides are almost abusing the rivals in public meetings, resulting in tension in many areas of the constituency.

In NA-31 Peshawar, ANP has fielded Ghulam Ahmad Bilour against the PTI chairman. Ghulam Bilour and Imran Khan contested polls against each other from the same constituency, then NA-1, in 2013.

The PTI chairman won the seat but later vacated it and retained another seat from Punjab. Ghulam Bilour, however, remained successful in the by-poll. In the 2018 general election, PTI candidate Shaukat Ali was elected MNA from this constituency by defeating Ghulam Bilour with a huge margin. This time the opposition parties are also supporting Ghulam Bilour against Imran Khan whose party has been ruling KP since 2013.

Ghulam Bilour was elected MNA from the constituency for the first time in 1988, and that too in the by-election. He had lost the seat to Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao of the PPP in the general election.

The competition was tough in NA-22 Mardan seat between Ali Muhammad Khan of PTI and a popular religious scholar Maulana Muhammad Qasim of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal in 2018. The former won the polls. This time the contest is taking place between Maulana Qasim and Imran Khan.