PTI demands army deployment for 'fair cantonment board elections'

ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has demanded that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seek the Pakistan Army’s assistance in ensuring transparency in the upcoming local bodies elections in cantonment boards across the country.

PTI Chief Organiser Saifullah Niazi wrote a letter to the ECP stating that the deployment of the army troops at polling stations was inevitable given the past experiences of rigging in elections in the country.

The cantonment board polls could be rigged in the absence of electronic voting machines (EVMs), he apprehended, adding local political players might resort to dishonest tactics, including bogus votes, to win the election.

READ: LOCAL BODIES ELECTIONS IN 42 CANTONMENTS ON SEPT 12: ECP

He asked the ECP to seek assistance of the army in holding fair elections.

The cantonment boards polls will take place on Sept 12. Major political parties, including the PTI, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), have fielded their candidates for the polls.