ANP wants institutions role defined for free, fair polls

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) Provincial General Secretary Sardar Hussain Babak has said that role of institutions must be defined for holding free and fair election in 2018.
Through a statement issued here on Thursday, the ANP leader questioned the role of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the NA-4 by-election. He asked the ECP to inform the government of its requirements to ensure the sanctity of the votes of the public.
The NA-4 by-election raised some very serious questions about the role and performance of the ECP, he added.
The ANP leader said the commission must inform the nation as to why the polling scheme was changed on the polling day and why the polling agents were not allowed inside the polling stations.
Babak also sought an explanation on the 50 percent reduction of the polling booths and not allowing media coverage.
He alleged that an official of the ECP disclosed results of 80 percent polling stations within 30 minutes of the closing of the voting to a private channel.
“If the results were authentic and correct, then why it was not uploaded to the official website.” he questioned.
He said the ECP’s role was to hold free and fair election and refrain from becoming a supporter of a specific agenda.