The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said that no proposal is under consideration to postpone the NA-133, Lahore by-election.
An ECP spokesperson said in a statement that the by-election would be held in NA-133 on December 5, as per schedule.
However, "if the situation changes, the ECP may take further action in this regard", he concluded.
The Punjab Home Department had written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan for the postponement of NA-133 by-election, citing security situation as the reason.
The letter stated that the provincial government was committed to make all-out efforts to hold free and fair polls in a safe and secure environment, but the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan had started a violent long march towards Islamabad to press the government for acceptance of their demands.
“These protesters are seriously undermining the safety and security of lives and properties of public at large. Consequently, several police personnel have been martyred and seriously injured in the ongoing violent protest so far,” it stated.
Meanwhile, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman Tariq Malik said that the registration of female voters has increased by 40% in the last 100 days due to the extensive campaign and utilisation of technical and other resources.
Briefing the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, who visited NADRA headquarters, he said that efforts were being made to expedite the registration process of women to achieve 100% registration target.
Members of Election Commission of Balochistan and Sindh, Election Commission secretary, and others were also present.
Malik said that since 2017, the gender gap in registration has been reduced from 19% to 10%.
He gave a detailed briefing to the CEC on the preparation of transparent and error-free voter lists, registration of women and minorities on the basis of ‘One Man, One Identity and One Vote’ in collaboration with every Election Commission.
Malik said the hurdles in the registration of women were being removed by taking various measures including establishment of women-only centres, dedicated day for registration of woman voters and online registration services to female voters.
The NADRA chairman said the registration of minority communities was also being facilitated.
The CEC reviewed the various stages of preparation of voter lists and also visited various facilities of NADRA.
The CEC appreciated the performance of NADRA in the preparation of transparent voter lists and the steps being taken for the registration of women. He assured Election Commission's cooperation and assistance to NADRA to increase registration of female voters. (With input from APP)
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