By-poll preparations in Punjab enter final phase

ISLAMABAD:

Preparations for the by-polls on 20 seats of Punjab Assembly scheduled to be held on July 17 are in the final phase as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed the printing of five million ballot papers – delivery of which to the returning officers will start from Wednesday (today).
On May 20, the election supervisor had de-seated 25 MPAs of the PTI for defying party directives and voting for Hamza Shehbaz for the post of the Punjab chief minister.

The reference against the dissident lawmakers sent by Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi was accepted by the ECP for violating Article 63-A which pertained to defection. The much-awaited verdict had gained political weightage in the wake of the Supreme Court’s verdict on a presidential reference, seeking its interpretation of Article 63-A, related to the disqualification of lawmakers over defection.
On May 25, the ECP announced that the by-polls on 20 seats would be held on July 17.

According to details, the electoral watchdog has completed the printing of five million ballot papers for the 20 constituencies of the Punjab by-polls. The delivery of ballot papers, which have been printed at the Printing Press Corporation, will start on Wednesday (today). The ballot papers will be handed over to the authorised representatives of the returning officers amid tight security. All the ballot papers have been printed in the federal capital.

The July 17 by-elections will be held in PP-7, PP-83, PP-90, PP-97, PP-125, PP-127, PP-140, PP-158, PP-167, PP-168, PP-170, PP-202, PP-217, PP-224, PP-228, PP-237, PP-272, PP-273, PP-282 Layyah and PP-288 constituencies.

With the PTI alleging that attempts are being made to rig the by-polls, the ECP had announced that the exercise in 20 constituencies of the province would be held on the basis of old electoral rolls.

Currently, the PTI needs to win around 14 seats to regain the coveted office from PML-N, while losing any more than six seats would mean banking on independents to switch sides which, given the existing circumstances, seems an unlikely probability. For both sides, clawing back to the post would also ensure their fresh mandates in the next general elections.