ECP dismisses PM Abbasi's statement casting doubts over upcoming polls

Earlier, premier told media elections were being powered by 'unknown forces'

Dismissing Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s statement over general elections 2018, the Elections Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reiterated that no “unknown force” was powering the upcoming polls, Express News reported.

In an informal briefing to the media, the prime minister had said his party [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz] will participate in the upcoming election even though it was being conducted by “invisible forces”.

Speaking to the media, a spokesperson for the ECP refuted the premier’s remarks casting doubts over the polls. “No unknown force is conducting the elections, in fact, the ECP is all set for the upcoming elections,” he said.

Reiterating that the polls were not being ‘influenced’ by “unknown forces”, he said the statement by PM Abbasi was against the ECP’s mandate and the Constitution as the commission was an independent body. The spokesperson stressed that “people holding key posts” should refrain from giving such statements. “Such comments are based on assumptions and are synonymous to mocking the Constitution.”