Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Babar Yaqoob on Sunday said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s press conference has not been given a clean chit by the polls body, and proceedings will be conducted as per law.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday along with ECP Additional Secretary Fida Muhammad, Yaqoob said that the PM addressed a press conference one day before the by polls. PTI had written a letter to the ECP in which it raised an objection; the ECP also received another letter in this regard. He added that the ECP had not taken any action so far.
“The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) did not make any statement regarding the PM’s press conference or the audio tape message from PTI Chairman Imran Khan. There was no reality in media new items,” he said and maintained that by elections in Lahore and Okara remained peaceful. He said that ECP had deputed its officials, including district returning officer (DRO) and returning officer (RO) in both constituencies.
He lauded the performance of the Pakistan Army and other institutions, including Punjab Police who contributed well in by polls on behalf of the ECP.
The secretary said that these by polls were held under the supervision of the army, which would supervise the electoral process until the results.
He said that DROs and ROs were deputed in Lahore from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while ECP officers hailing from Balochistan were deputed in Okara. He added that no official from the province or federal was deputed in these constituencies.
He further said that almost six to seven thousand army personnel were deputed for election duty.
Responding to a question, he said that the polling time began at 8:00 am and lasted until 5:00 pm. Ballots could not be opened before 5:00 pm. An investigation would be held if the results were declared on media prior to the fixed time, he concluded.
