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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday vowed to ensure free and fair polling on 20 seats of the Punjab Assembly, with the Punjab election commissioner saying all necessary measures have been taken to avert any unrest.
The Punjab Assembly is currently short of 20 lawmakers, who were de-seated in May for voting against party instructions in the election for the provincial chief minister. All 20 had belonged to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) but had voted for the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s Hamza Shehbaz and were de-seated in accordance with the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 63A of the Constitution.
The by-polls are considered especially important as both rival parties need to win a majority to secure the chief ministership. The PTI, which is aligned with the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid), currently boasts 173 MPAs in the Punjab Assembly; rival PMLN, which has the support of the Pakistan Peoples Party and several independents, has 175. A chief minister requires 186 votes in the 371-member House, meaning the PMLN must win at least 11 seats, while the PTI must secure at least 13.
Addressing a press conference, Punjab Election Commissioner Saeed Gul said the July 17 (Sunday) polls would be monitored by the Election Commission secretary through a camp office in Lahore. “The chief election commissioner and all four members of the Election Commission would monitor the polling from a control room in Islamabad,” he said, adding that all the preparations had been completed.
He said law enforcement agencies had been directed to ensure peace on polling day, adding that all relevant election material would be distributed by returning officers to presiding officers a day before polling. “Polling material will be sent to polling stations under guard,” he said, adding that after the voting had concluded, it would similarly be transported to returning officers. “A separate vehicle has been arranged for each polling station,” he said, stressing that the ECP had records of all staff, security and vehicles and would be keeping a close eye on their movements.
Gul said security would be ensured through police, Rangers, and the Army. “Police will be deployed at polling stations; Rangers will patrol the constituencies; and Army personnel will be on standby,” he said, adding that around 50,000 police would be deployed during the polls.
Rebutting claims by the PTI that the ECP had not acted against rules’ violations during the campaign, the provincial commissioner said district monitoring officers had acted against all offenders in all 20 constituencies under consideration. “Notices were issued on transfers/postings in government departments; oversized banners and hoardings; announcement of development schemes; participation of public office-holders in campaigning; aerial firing; and inciting speeches,” he said, adding that Rs. 577,500 in fines had been collected so far.
By-polls, by the numbers
The ECP said that 3,131 polling stations had been established in the 20 constituencies, adding that 676 “highly sensitive”; 1,194 “sensitive”; and 1,271 “normal” polling stations had been identified. Gul said the “highly sensitive” polling stations would be monitored by CCTV and police and Rangers would have greater deployment in the “sensitive” and “highly sensitive” areas.
According to the ECP, there are 4,579,898 registered voters in the 20 constituencies, with 2,460,206 men and 2,119,692 women voters.
Gul added that all candidates had been instructed to ensure their polling agents provided receipts to presiding officers after obtaining valid Form 45 and Form 46 copies from them.