ECP denies polls delay reports

Commission says legal action will be taken against those spreading these ‘lies’

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday clarified that the reports of delay in holding the next general elections were “baseless and misleading”.

An ECP spokesperson strongly denied the news reports being broadcasted by a section of the media that the polls would be delayed.
The spokesperson pointed out that claims about the commission failing to prepare the electoral lists yet were absolutely false.

He added that the ECP had decided to approach the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to identify the people spreading these “lies” so that legal action could be taken against them.

The spokesperson said transcripts and recordings of news broadcasts on various channels had been ordered to be handed over to the ECP, after which an application would be filed with Pemra for action against those found involved in spreading thee rumours.

Read  ECP begins compiling final list of constituencies

On the other hand, the ECP spokesperson said the printing of the final updated electoral rolls that would be used in the next general elections was under way at the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

He continued that in fact, the delivery of these electoral rolls had also been started in various districts. At the start of the current month after the intervention of the Supreme Court, the ECP and President Dr Arif Alvi had agreed on the date of February 8 for the next general polls.

Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa stressed the need for maturity and understanding by every institution. The state-run APP reported that the ECP was scheduled to release the final list of the constituencies based on the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 on Thursday (today), earlier than initially planned.

Read more ECP likely to unveil polls schedule by Dec 5

According to the ECP spokesperson, objections concerning the new constituencies for the National Assembly and four provincial legislatures were deliberated and concluded on November 22.

The commission started working on the objections over the fresh constituencies from November 1. The ECP heard 1,324 objections on the new constituencies across the country -- 672 from Punjab, 228 from Sindh, 293 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 124 from Balochistan and seven from Islamabad.

The ECP officials said they had completed the work of carving out fresh constituencies as per the country’s first-ever digital census and the upcoming general elections would be held on their basis.

(With input from APP)