Election Commission of Pakistan. PHOTO: FILE
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to go ahead and hold by-elections in all 42 constituencies on August 22, despite flooding and security threats.
The decision, which was made at a meeting of the ECP chaired by acting Chief Election Commissioner Tassadiq Hussain Jilani, came after the commission turned down requests for postponement of by-elections in some constituencies of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
A source privy to the proceedings told The Express Tribune that Jhal Magsi’s deputy commissioner had called for postponing the by-election on the Balochistan Assembly seat, PB-32 (Jhal Magsi), due to the ongoing floods.
However, the ECP didn’t grant his request. The provincial election commissioner endorsed the ECP decision after the provincial chief secretary told the meeting that only four of the 60 polling stations set up in the constituency were inundated.
According to officials from the Met Office and NDMA, chances of widespread rain in the affected areas of the constituencies were slim until August 22.
The ECP secretary told the media that “there were requests for postponement [of by-elections] in Jhal Magsi but we [ECP] have decided to go ahead with polls. If needed we would relocate the affected polling stations.”
Sources also revealed that the defence secretary had raised apprehensions over holding by-polls in NA-25 (DI Khan) citing security threats. However, the K-P chief secretary didn’t support the request for postponement arguing that the ECP should not bow down to terrorist threats.
The ECP extended powers of a magistrate first class to officers-in-charge of army, rangers and Frontier Corps units deployed at polling stations on August 22. This is the first time in parliamentary history that such powers have been given to officers of security forces on the day of polling.
A total of 1,840 polling stations have been declared ‘most sensitive’ and the ECP has decided to deploy army troops both inside and outside such polling stations. Meanwhile, another 2,686 polling stations that have been declared ‘sensitive.’
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2013.
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