Election date not yet finalised, clarifies ECP

ISLAMABAD: Disputing media reports claiming finalisation of the election date, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday clarified that it has not yet decided on any particular date to hold general elections 2018.

The reports were going rounds that the ECP decided July 26 as the day of elections in the country. The wide circulation of media reports on election date prompted the ECP to issue a clarification.

“Neither has a date been fixed for the upcoming polls nor is any particular date being considered,” the ECP said today. The election commission further said there is no veracity in any such report.

Meanwhile, the ECP has also set a period of four weeks between submission of nomination papers and putting of final lists of candidates besides a period of 8 days for scrutiny of nomination papers.

It is also reported that the ECP had appointed district returning officers (DROs), returning officers (ROs) and assistant returning officers (AROs) for the upcoming general elections.

Yesterday, the ECP had convened a key meeting to review progress over procurement of security cameras for installation, provision of missing facilities at polling stations and availability of sufficient polling staff.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza.

It was informed during a meeting, attended by chief secretaries of all provinces, that security cameras would be installed at most sensitive polling stations during the upcoming general elections for four days.

It was decided that heightened security measures will be taken for the upcoming general elections keeping in mind the recent attack on Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal. The chief secretaries from Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) attended the meeting.

“Providing security at the polling stations is a big challenge,” ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob was quoted as saying during the meeting. He said the ECP risked sabotage if any of the returning officers (RO) faced any kind of security risk. “The attack on the interior minister is before everyone,” Yaqoob stated.