PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asked the Khyber Paktunkhwa government for foolproof security arrangements for the by-elections in Dera Ismail Khan and other areas of the province on 13 February.
The ECP said that elections on these constituencies were postponed due to law and situation. In DI Khan the process was stopped after the murder of the Awami National Party candidate Umar Khitab Sherani a day before election on 17 December, last year. Thus, the ECP has directed the KP government to provide foolproof security to ensure free and fair polls in a peaceful environment.
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The ECP said that CCTV cameras will be installed inside and outside in polling situations to keep eye on the overall security situation.
The ECP has provided its social media accounts to citizens for reporting violations of rules and regulations in the second phase of local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Citizens will be able to report violations of rules and regulations on social networking sites,” said the ECP in a statement. The election in the remaining 18 district of the province is scheduled on 27 March. The process of issuing nomination papers will start from February 4.
The first phase of local government election was held on 18 December last year. However, the polls process was marred by violence and the ECP has accused the KP police as “mere spectator” to violence. Thus, the ECP has decided to deploy Pakistan army to ensure peaceful polls in the remaining districts on 27 March. Several incidents of mismanagement and disruption of polling process were reported during the first phase of election. The election body has accused the KP police of failure to ensure full-fledged security and peaceful elections.
But, the head of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Maulana Fazlur Rehman has rejected the army deployment. The PDM chief said that the ECP should take responsibility for holding free and fair elections without asking for the army deployment.