LAHORE, May 16: Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan says the election body will not tolerate any intervention in the general elections scheduled to take place [in July] this year.
Addressing a ceremony in Lahore, Khan said the ECP would adopt all measures to ensure elections were conducted in a fair and transparent manner. The role of district returning officers will be very crucial in the polls, he remarked.
“The elections are very vital for country’s prosperity and future and
we will hold them in strict adherence to the Constitution.”
He underlined that the judiciary was a transparent institution and that’s the reason DROs were appointed from the judiciary.
The ECP chief reiterated that no intervention will be tolerated in the polls and all the election staff would be provided due security.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Election Commission Babar Yaqoob said there would be no delay in the elections nor any ‘alien’ will influence the polls.
The ECP has prepared a code of conduct for foreign observers in the upcoming general elections. The election commission said that the foreign observers can come to Pakistan for four to six weeks.
The ECP said that the foreign ministry will issue instructions regarding visa for foreign missions.
The election commission has also extended the deadline for submission of applications by political parties and electoral alliances for election symbol till May 25.
However, the ECP notified that the applications submitted before the previous deadline of May 15 would not be considered and advised all such parties and alliances to submit fresh applications. “Incomplete applications or requests through fax will not be entertained.
The commission made it clear that applications received after the May 25 deadline would not be entertained. The ECP said the application must contain a list of symbols that the party sought in order of priority and the symbol allotted to it in the previous general elections.
Every application should be signed by the respective party head, according to the ECP. The commission will allocate a symbol to a political party only if it complied with the relevant provisions of the elections act. -NNI
