Punjab by-polls: LHC moved against decision to appoint local polling agents

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has challenged a decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) before the Lahore High Court (LHC) for deputing local polling agents during the by-polls in 20 constituencies of the Punjab Assembly, ARY NEWS reported.

The petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) has been filed by PTI’s Yasmin Rashid through her counsel Aamir Saeed. He pleaded before the court that there was no such bar on deputing a polling agent who is a resident of the constituency.

“There is no such provision in the Elections Act,” she said and termed it a decision made by the ECP to further expose biases against the PTI. She further alleged that such acts are part of pre-poll rigging attempts and asked the LHC to annul the decision from the election commission.

It is pertinent to mention here that PTI has deployed its MNAs from KP to oversee the by-polls in the 20 Punjab constituencies that would decide the fate of the incumbent Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz.

According to sources privy to the PTI strategy to foil rigging attempts, as many as 5,000 young PTI activists will be deployed at the constituencies along with lawyers being posted as polling agents of the party.

“The lawyers will be made polling agents and will perform their duties in uniforms to foil any rigging attempts immediately,” they said.

They said that PTI women activists will be deployed at the female polling stations and measures will be taken for their transportation to the polling station.

“The PTI leadership will also remain in touch with the party candidates on the polling day while candidates will also be asked to secure pre-arrest bails to avoid any bid to arrest them,” they said.