By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday invited major politi-cal parties to hold consultation on upcoming general elections in the country. As per details, the electoral watchdog has decided to consult leaders of major political parties to decide a roadmap for the upcoming elections in the country.
The ECP has invited Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and Ja-miat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) president Fazalur Rehman to appear on Thursday.
Meanwhile, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-Chairman are invited to appear on Friday and August 29, respectively.
The PTI chief has been asked to participate in the meeting in-person or through representatives at 2pm on Thursday.
According to the letter, matters related to delimitation of constituencies, up-dation of electoral rolls, conduct of general election and election schedule will came under discussion.
Earlier, The (ECP) had cautioned the federal and provincial caretaker govern-ments against getting involved in any political activities that might undermine the smooth conduct of elections.
In letters written to caretaker governments, the electoral watchdog affirmed that the regimes must refrain from any actions aimed at exerting influence on the elections or engaging in any activities that could, in any way, impact or compromise the integrity of free and fair elections.
“The caretaker governments, as apolitical bodies, are authorised to make deci-sions or take steps pertaining to ongoing bilateral or multilateral agreements, as well as projects that have been previously initiated under the Public Private Partnership Authority Act 2017.”
The ECP cautioned the caretaker administrations to confine themselves to the authority granted to them by the Elections Act, 2017.
Earlier, The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday has decided to consult all major political parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), regarding the date of general elections that are expected early next year, sources told.
According to the sources, the political parties will be consulted separately, with the consultations revolving around the election roadmap as well as issues related to delimitation and voter lists.
The ECP’s meeting with the political parties, the sources added, is expected to begin in the next few days.
The major parties that the electoral watchdog will be holding meetings with include Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
ECP content with RCS
After receiving a briefing on the new Result Compilation System (RCS), a day earlier, the ECP expressed its satisfaction with the mock exercise with regard to its use.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja presided over a meeting of the commission at its secretariat in Islamabad, which was attended by members, secretary and other senior officers.
The commission was given a briefing on the RCS, which allows the presiding officer to send the results immediately to returning officer through a mobile app.
Moreover, returning officers will also be able to compile inconclusive results under this system with quick and accurate data about votes.
According to the election authority’s Media Coordination and Outreach Wing, regular mock exercises were performed on this system, and all stages of the system were checked.
The commission, towards the end, expressed full satisfaction with the system.
In recent years, the commission has come up with some systems in relation to dealing with election results, which include result transmission and management systems.
Besides, the commission also reviewed the work relating to the delimitation of constituencies of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies in light of the first-ever digital census in 2023.
In this connection, the commission has also sent necessary communications to the provincial governments and the statistics department.
Likewise, meetings have also been held with concerned agencies that, via phone call, have also been reminded to immediately provide necessary maps and other data to the commission to immediately initiate the process of delimitation.
To carry out fresh delimitations, the five delimitation committees, notified on Monday, will receive districts’ maps and necessary data from the federal capital and provinces until August 31.
