Deployment of Rangers in Punjab for third phase of LB polls approved

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday decided to deploy in the Punjab armed forces personnel and Rangers for the security and peaceful conduct of the local government (LG) elections in the third phase on December 5.
The decision was taken in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan.The CEC called on the polling staff to discharge duty with impartiality, as it was the obligation of the ECP to conduct polls in a free, fair and transparent manner.
He called for ensuring a level playing field to all the contesting candidates and political parties in connection with the elections, emphasizing there would be no compromise on the issue of law and order.
The chief election commissioner said this while chairing a meeting here at the Election Commission Secretariat to review the preparations for the third phase of the local bodies polls in Punjab and Sindh. The forum was briefed on printing of ballot papers, training of polling staff, logistics and security issues.
Among others, the Election Commission members, provincial election commissioner Punjab, home secretary and inspector general of police, district returning officers of 12 districts and senior officers of the Election Commission were present during the meeting. The ECP Secretary, Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, will visit Karachi within two days, to review poll preparations in Sindh.
In his opening remarks, the chief election commissioner said that under Article 218(3) of the Constitution, it was the duty of the Election Commission to conduct the local government elections in Punjab in a free, fair and transparent manner by providing a level playing field to all the contesting candidates and political parties.
The PEC Punjab briefed the Election Commission about the details of polling stations/polling booths established for the third phase, the number of contesting candidates for each category and wards, polling staff appointed and trained for this purpose, requirement of the Army/Rangers and other security arrangements as well as printing and transportation of ballot papers.
The home secretary and the IG Punjab highlighted the details about security arrangements and other initiatives/preventive measures that include zero tolerance on violation of code of conduct, imposition of Section 144 of Cr.PC ban on assembling more than five people near 300 meters of the polling stations, ban on victory rallies and surety bonds, etc.
The DROs of all the 12 districts informed the forum about the arrangements in their respective districts one by one and shared their achievements and problems.The Election Commission praised the steps taken by the PEC Punjab, the provincial government and efforts of all the DROs and expressed the hope that the third phase of local bodies polls in Punjab would be well-organised and more systematic.