Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced postponing by-elections in various constituencies of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa “in view of the devastation caused by floods”.
The development came as former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been running an election campaign to mobilise voters ahead of the crucial by-elections that have been postponed by the electoral watchdog.
Imran had filed nomination papers for all the nine seats — in a bid to set a record — that fell vacant after the National Assembly speaker had accepted the resignations of his party’s lawmakers.
According to the ECP, the by-elections were scheduled in the National
Assembly constituency of NA-157 (Multan) and provincial assembly of Punjab constituencies PP-139 (Sheikhupra) and PP-241 (Bahawalnagar) on Sunday.
Polling in NA-22 (Mardan), NA-24 (Charsadda) NA-31, Peshawar, NA-45, Kurram, NA 108 (Faisalabad )NA-118 (Nankana Sahib), NA-237 (Malir), NA-239,(Korangi) and NA-246 (Karachi) was to be held on 25th of this month, while by-election in PP-209 (Khanewal) was scheduled for 2nd of the next month (October).
The ECP said only the by-polls in the above-mentioned constituencies have been postponed, while all the other procedures and steps will be completed as per schedule.
It said the decision to postpone the by-elections has been taken after getting proper feedback from the Interior Ministry according to which Pakistan Army, Rangers and the Frontier Corps are busy in relief work for the flood-affected people, maintaining internal security and thwarting terrorist activities in the country.
The electoral authority further said ensuring peaceful elections is the prime responsibility and priority of the ECP for which services of the Pakistan Army, Rangers and other security agencies were not available at the moment. “Hence, the decision to postpone the by-election was taken in the best interest of the public so that peaceful polling process can be ensured.”
The ECP will announce new dates for the polling as soon as it finds the availability of the law enforcement agencies’ personnel, it added.
