ECP resumes training of staff for polls duty

Leave for govt workers stopped until Feb 8 elections

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has resumed the training of district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) across the country in line with the Supreme Court’s order.

According to the commission’s spokesperson, 144 DROs and 850 ROs are currently under training by senior ECP officers.
The spokesperson added that the training would be completed by December 19.

In the federal capital, a letter has been sent by the Islamabad deputy commissioner, in his capacity as a DRO, to the Federal Directorate of Education with the instructions that no employee would be allowed to take a leave.

Authorities in other parts of the country have also been told not to grant leaves to government employees -- with the exception of maternity and medical ones.

Read ECP moves to put in place poll plan

The staff responsible for supervising electoral activities has been ordered to remain in the constituencies where they had been posted till the February 8 polls.

In Sindh, the spokesman for the provincial election commission said the training of 30 DROs and 191 ROs had kicked off. They include 61 for the National Assembly and 130 for the provincial legislature.

The objective of the training is to equip the DROs and ROs with the necessary skills to effectively carry out their electoral responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Election Commissioner Aijaz Anwar Chohan directed that the returning officers (ROs) should work responsibly and redress the complainants according to the constitution and law.

He said that all available resources will be utilised to hold fair and transparent elections in Balochistan. In a meeting with a group of journalists held here, Aijaz Anwar Chohan said that holding clean and transparent elections is the ultimate responsibility, which will be fulfilled effectively.

He said that ECP will treat political parties and candidates participating in the elections equally, adding that a level playing field will be provided to all the political parties participating in the general election.

Read LHC halts bureaucrat deployment for polls

He further stressed that in the upcoming elections, efforts will be made to improve the security situation. Officials of law enforcement agencies responsible for implementing the law will play their role in maintaining peace and security.

The provincial election commissioner stated that he held a meeting with the Inspector General (IG) Police, who informed him that the situation here is different from the other provinces of the country. Police reserves, the Frontier Corps (FC), and if necessary, the military will be requested outside polling stations.

He mentioned that they will urge the public to ensure that women cast their votes. In Balochistan, more than 5,000 polling stations will be established. He emphasised that they will fulfill their role to ensure clean, transparent, and peaceful elections.

On Thursday, the ECP stopped the three-day training of the officers responsible for overseeing electoral activities following the ruling of Lahore High Court’s Justice Ali Baqar Najafi issued on a petition filed by PTI Additional Secretary General Barrister Umair Niazi that the DROs and ROs would not appointed from the bureaucracy of Punjab – a development that could have potentially delayed the upcoming general polls scheduled for February 8.

On Friday, the Supreme Court suspended the LHC’s ruling against the appointment of the DROs and ROs. A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa that also included Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Sardar Tariq Masood, passed the order on a petition filed by the ECP challenging the LHC verdict.

The top court, in its order, termed the LHC’s order as “irresponsible” that was delivered in “haste”. It directed the high court not to proceed further on the PTI’s petition.

Read more ECP issues election schedule after SC’s intervention

The SC sought the complete record of the case from the high court and ordered that a show-cause notice be issued to PTI’s Niazi, seeking an explanation as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

Telling the ECP lawyer to read out the SC’s November 3 order, which stressed that the general elections should take place on February 8, the CJP noted that Niazi’s petition was a violation of the top court’s verdict.

CJP Isa ordered that the PTI’s petition should be forwarded to the SC to determine its maintainability. He continued that the top court would hear the petition itself if it deemed it appropriate.

However, he observed that the PTI’s plea, as filed, appeared not to be maintainable. On the SC’s order, the ECP on Friday also issued the election schedule for the next general polls.

(With input from APP)