ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Thursday that despite the security challenges, it was fully prepared to hold the general election on February 8.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, who presided over a meeting here, said although there were security challenges, the commission was fully prepared to hold the election on the given date. He said with the help of law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) and Pakistan Army, the elements obstructing the elections and disturbing the law and order situation would be dealt with strictly, and no leniency would be shown to anyone in this regard.
A spokesman for the ECP told the state news agency that printing of ballot papers for all the constituencies of National and provincial assemblies in Balochistan had been completed. He said around 90 per cent printing of ballot papers for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 80pc for Punjab and 60pc for Sindh constituencies had also been completed. The printing of ballot papers for three seats of National Assembly of the federal capital had been started and the task would be completed shorty.
However, the ECP made it clear earlier that ballot papers were being printed in reduced size for certain reasons. During a meeting convened to discuss the reprinting of ballot papers in certain constituencies, the ECP disclosed the move to reduce the ballot paper size due to shortage of special security paper and time constraints. The statement highlighted that the reprinting process had been necessitated by recent court decisions impacting various constituencies.
To mitigate the shortage and streamline the printing process, the ECP took the unprecedented step of reducing the size of the ballot paper.
In view of the deteriorating security situation, particularly in Balochistan and KP, the ECP held a meeting at its secretariat on Thursday, which was attended by acting caretaker interior minister, federal home secretary, director general Intelligence Bureau (IB), chief secretaries and inspectors general (IGs) of KP and Balochistan provinces, representatives of other agencies, secretary ECP and other senior officials.
The meeting reviewed the overall law and order situation and security situation with special reference to Balochistan and KP and its impact on the nation-wide electoral exercise to be held next week. The meeting reviewed security and administrative measures taken for safe and peaceful conduct of the general election.
Balochistan chief secretary and IGP informed the meeting that the provincial administration and security agencies were fully alert and ready to tackle terrorism. They apprised the commission of the ongoing operation against terrorists in the province and promised that no political or non-political force would be allowed to obstruct the election process and those doing so would be dealt with an iron hand.
Likewise, the KP chief secretary and IGP highlighted the security measures taken and threats to elections in the province. The meeting was informed that elections were being held in KP for the first time after the merger of FATA with the province, but preparations at the administrative level were complete and all resources had been provided to the law-enforcement agencies.
Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz said he had returned from a visit to Balochistan where he reviewed the security situation. He said the federal and provincial governments were fully prepared for peaceful and successful conduct of elections. “All preparations in this regard are complete and full cooperation and resources will be provided to the Election Commission for the conduct of general election, and there will be no negligence at any level in this regard,” he assured the meeting.
The chief election commissioner (CEC) expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the two provinces, especially the incidents of attacks on the Election Commission offices and political rallies. He made it clear that no one should have any illusions or assumptions about timely conduct of elections.
Sikandar Sultan termed terrorism the biggest enemy of the electoral process, but expressed full confidence in the LEAs and said all necessary administrative and security arrangements would be made for peaceful conduct of general election. He said political parties, candidates and voters were safe to campaign fearlessly and citizens to exercise their right to vote for which a conducive environment would be provided to them.
He urged the LEAs to be aware of attempts by various elements to take the law into their hands on the election day, especially during the counting process and declaration of results.
Talking to the media informally after the meeting, the CEC said the Election Management System (EMS) would function even if Internet service were disrupted during the exercise. He said there should be no ambiguity about it that general election would be conducted on Feb 8. He said there was no discussion about Internet shutdown on the polling day, but the EMS would work offline if the Internet services were disrupted for any reason.
He said the ECP was assured by the chief secretaries and IGPs of Balochistan and KP on the law and order during the elections. To a question, he said ballot papers were not available for the by-elections currently. He added that reducing the size of ballot paper would not make any difference, and the box where the ballot was to be stamped would not be small for putting the seal.
Due to the court decisions, he noted, the plan for printing ballot papers had to be changed and that ballot papers had been reprinted in the light of court decisions in many constituencies.
He claimed that the ECP has provided a level playing field to all political parties and submitted a report to the Supreme Court in this regard. He said that instructions were issued to the chief secretaries and IGPs to provide equal opportunities to all.
An ECP official, meanwhile, made it clear that after today (Thursday), if there was any decision regarding any constituency, the elections in that constituency would be postponed, something the commission had already indicated. The reason for it, he explained, was that the ECP had run out of scope for further printing of ballot papers.
As for transportation of ballot papers, which is already under way, it was learnt that in some areas of KP and Balochistan, ballot papers were being airlifted and those areas include Kurram and Bajaur in KP, whereas Gwadar, Panjgur, Kech and Kharan districts of Balochistan were being supplied ballot papers through helicopter and C-130 aircraft.
Meanwhile, at least one man was killed and four others were injured on Thursday as multiple blasts were reported in different parts of Balochistan, including the provincial capital Quetta, according to police.
In Quetta, the explosion took place in the Spinny Road area. Police cordoned off the area and were ascertaining the nature of the blast, Geo News reported. Bomb disposal squad and rescue teams arrived at the site of the blast where, according to police, at least one person was killed in the explosion.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Operations, Quetta, Tariq Jawad, told the media that 8-10 kgs of explosives were used in the blast in the provincial capital. He said the deceased was not identified yet, adding preliminary investigation showed the victim was a passer-by.
Explosions also took place in Naseerabad and Turbat districts of the province.
According to police, at least three people were injured when a hand-grenade exploded in the Dera Allah Yar Bhatti gate area in Naseerabad and one person was injured in a grenade blast in Turbat’s main market.
In a statement on Thursday, an ECP spokesperson said report had been sought from the chief secretary and Balochistan police chief on explosions in the province.
Separately, in the wake of firing during election campaign of a political party in Raza Goth village of Sukkur district, the ECP sought an immediate report from the Sindh chief secretary and IGP so that action could be taken against those responsible under the election laws.
