AJK polls: Election body finalises preparations
The authority hopes the code will be observed before,on and after polling.
MIRPUR:
The election commission is ready to conduct by-elections for the Muzaffarabad-III (LA-26) seat of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on September 22 (Thursday), AJK election commission sources said.
The seat had fallen vacant after Raja Farooq Haider Khan, PML-N candidate and former AJK prime minister, withdrew from it. He had won two seats in the elections in AJK in June.
The three candidates running are: joint candidate of the PPP and Muslim Conference, Sardar Usman Attique Khan; PML-N-backed candidate Barrister Iftikhar Hussain Gillani; and Anjum Nisar Mir, who is running independently. Another independent candidate, former Muzaffarabad city administrator Zahid Amin Kashif, reportedly announced his withdrawal from the polls in favour of Gillani.
AJK Election Commission officials said a code of ethics has been formulated to ensure “free and transparent” elections. They stated that the candidates and their supporters, as well as other concerned persons should strictly observe the code, and abide by the rules and regulations before, on, and after the polling day.
The sources claimed that the use of government vehicles and other public resources by the candidates and their supporters will be strictly prohibited for electioneering as well as on the polling day.
The visits of the AJK cabinet ministers, government advisors and members of the legislative assembly to the polling stations on the polling day have also been prohibited except those who intend to cast their vote in the by-polls.
The ongoing process of by-polls is going smoothly due to strict observance of the prohibitory orders and bans imposed by the Azad Jammu & Kashmir Election Commission, officials said; the use, display or possession of arms by candidates and their supporters has been prohibited by the authority during the elections in the Muzaffarabad District.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2011.
The election commission is ready to conduct by-elections for the Muzaffarabad-III (LA-26) seat of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on September 22 (Thursday), AJK election commission sources said.
The seat had fallen vacant after Raja Farooq Haider Khan, PML-N candidate and former AJK prime minister, withdrew from it. He had won two seats in the elections in AJK in June.
The three candidates running are: joint candidate of the PPP and Muslim Conference, Sardar Usman Attique Khan; PML-N-backed candidate Barrister Iftikhar Hussain Gillani; and Anjum Nisar Mir, who is running independently. Another independent candidate, former Muzaffarabad city administrator Zahid Amin Kashif, reportedly announced his withdrawal from the polls in favour of Gillani.
AJK Election Commission officials said a code of ethics has been formulated to ensure “free and transparent” elections. They stated that the candidates and their supporters, as well as other concerned persons should strictly observe the code, and abide by the rules and regulations before, on, and after the polling day.
The sources claimed that the use of government vehicles and other public resources by the candidates and their supporters will be strictly prohibited for electioneering as well as on the polling day.
The visits of the AJK cabinet ministers, government advisors and members of the legislative assembly to the polling stations on the polling day have also been prohibited except those who intend to cast their vote in the by-polls.
The ongoing process of by-polls is going smoothly due to strict observance of the prohibitory orders and bans imposed by the Azad Jammu & Kashmir Election Commission, officials said; the use, display or possession of arms by candidates and their supporters has been prohibited by the authority during the elections in the Muzaffarabad District.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2011.