Mayor put on notice for violating code of conduct

ECP seeks written explanation from Wahab or else he may face legal action

KARACHI:

The Election Commission has issued a notice to Mayor Murtaza Wahab for violating code of conduct and sought an explanation from him.

According to code of conduct, mayor, chairman and Nazim cannot support any political party. In a letter issued by Joint Election Commissioner Sindh to Murtaza Wahab, it is said that his press conference clearly gives the impression that he is supporting a particular political party as the mayor of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. As the mayor his actions may influence the election results in favour of the political party. Mayor Karachi has violated Clause No. 18 and 41 of Code of Conduct.

The Election Commission has directed the mayor to submit a written response in a day, otherwise action will be taken against him as per the law.

The letter said that it is the constitutional responsibility of the ECP to make such arrangements for the conduct of elections in accordance with Article 218 (93) of the Constitution that ensure transparent elections.

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The ECP issued a code of conduct for political parties, election candidates, election agents and polling agents on December 20, 2023 under section 33 of the Election Act 2017 to hold consultative meetings with major political parties and thereafter.

According to the code of conduct, president, prime minister, chairman, deputy chairman Senate, speaker, deputy speaker, federal ministers, ministers of state, governors, chief ministers, provincial ministers, advisers to the PM, CMs, mayors, chairmen and their deputies cannot participate in the election campaign. The clause will also apply to the caretaker setup. However, members of the Senate and local government are allowed to participate in the election campaign. They will strictly adhere to the code of conduct, instructions, guidelines and regulations issued by the ECP and will face legal consequences for their violation.

Apart from this, political parties, candidates, supporters, elected representatives of local government shall not announce or inaugurate their development schemes or development works, openly or secretly or do anything that affects the results of elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2024.