ECP has complete control over the electoral process: secretary

ISLAMABAD: Just days before the general elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) clarified it has complete control over the electoral process and is receiving cooperation from other institutions.

ECP Secretary Babar Yaqub, while addressing media outside their head office, said that there should be doubts and he would make it like to clarify that the commission has complete authority over the electoral process.

He said the commission is ensuring the swift delivery of election material, and has sent the necessary supplies to the respective Returning Officers, and complaints received have been duly addressed.

He said that various measures have been adopted to stop any electoral misconduct and CCTV cameras are being installed inside polling stations which will be monitored on election day.  Furthermore, he said that 800,000 civil and armed forces officials will be deployed for security purposes across the country.

Mr. Yaqub said they have received complaint from the Ministry of Interior that three election candidates are placed on the US terror watch list and notices have been issued to them.

He said that security officers will perform their duties under the code of conduct. He thanked the Chief Justice of Pakistan, and the chief justices of high courts saying that returning officers, and deputy returning officers have magistrate powers and have been assigned election duties.

He assured that elections will be held in a free, fair and transparent manner under the constitution, and that voters should play their role for sake of democracy in the country, and the 2018 general elections will be impartial and non-partisan.

He said that starting and finishing polls is the responsibility of the presiding officer. He said the foreign observers have been given an overview of the election process.

He also said that facilities at polling stations have been improved in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while further efforts are being made to improve services in Sindh and Balochistan.

The secretary said the over seven million people have checked their voter information through SMS in the past few days, and the polling schemes will be released on Google Maps to help voters find their polling stations.

He said that electioneering is ongoing despite several incidents across the country, and the commission has taken notice of the firing incident in Multan on former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gillani’s son. He said that there should no doubts or confusion over the elections, and the election commission should inform them.

He said that work on the Results Transmission System (RTS) is ongoing and will be completed by July 23, and the election results will be transmitted and broadcast on state television.