Punjab by-polls: ECP CEC directs chief secretary, IG against political victimization

ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed the chief secretary and inspector general of police (IG) Punjab against any political victimization during by-polls on 20 constituencies of the provincial assembly, ARY NEWS reported.

The ECP spokesperson said that CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja has directed them to avoid any action against any civilian and warned that the ECP would take strict action if the directives are violated.

“All possible measures should be taken to ensure polling in a free and fair manner,” he said.

‘RIGGING HAS BEGUN’

PTI leader Shehbaz Gill has claimed that the rigging has begun in the by-polls on 20 constituencies of the Punjab Assembly and shared that their polling agents in Muzaffargarh were not allowed to check the empty ballot boxes.

Taking to Twitter, Shehbaz Gill said the two polling agents of their candidates in PP-272 (Muzaffargarh) were expelled from polling stations, 44 and 46, and now they were not allowed to check empty ballot boxes and the number of ballot papers available with the presiding officer.

Polling underway in 20 constituencies  

The polling for the ‘do and die’ by-elections on 20 constituencies of the Punjab Assembly has begun after top leaders from PTI and PML-N led by Imran Khan and Maryam Nawaz launched a whirlwind campaign to support their candidates.

The by-polls on the 20 Punjab Assembly seats, vacated after the PTI MPAs voted for Hamza Shahbaz in the Chief Minister (CM) elections, will be conducted on Sunday (today).

The results of the by-polls would be essential for the CM vote count, ordered by the Supreme Court (SC), in the Punjab Assembly in July 2022.