Pakistan People’s Party Punjab President Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo has demanded deployment of judicial officers as returning officers and presiding officers for free, fair and impartial by-elections and local bodies’ elections in the province.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Wattoo said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should act on this request in order to avoid any untoward happening that could result in rigging.
He pointed out that the appointments of Punjab government officers such as engineers, town municipal officers (TMOs) and others would make the whole process controversial, saying the Punjab government treated them as their personal servants and they eagerly comply to please the mandarins. “The polls will not be fair and transparent if officers and staff of the Punjab government are appointed,” he asserted.
Wattoo observed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had been ruling the province for more than two decades and the bureaucracy was aware of the attitude of the top government functionaries.
He said the reports were already abound that officers were being coerced by the respective MNAs and MPAs of the ruling the PML-N to do their bidding and they were in action in using their influence in favor of ruling party’s candidates.
He pointed out that all other parties like Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan Awami Tehreek and others had been demanding that the elections should be held under the supervision of the judiciary and the Rangers should ensure peace and security during the elections. The inaction of the ECP was beyond comprehension, he added.
Wattoo maintained that the province could not afford the uncertainty anymore created due to the controversial elections, and said the Election Commission of Pakistan should immediately address the apprehensions of almost all the opposition parties by appointing judicial officers to supervise the forthcoming elections.