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ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday expressed its inability to ensure printing of ballot papers for local bodies elections in Punjab and Sindh.
During a meeting of Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs which met at the Parliament House here under chairmanship of Mian Abdul Mannan, a senior official of the ECP disclosed that printing of 300 million and 30 million ballot papers for Punjab and Sindh respectively was not possible.
He said the Printing Press of Pakistan and other printing sectors have no capacity to accomplish this job.
The committee was briefed by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Election Commission of Pakistan, said a press a release.
The Additional Secretary of ECP said the technical teams of PCSIR and NADRA had unanimously concluded that the life of the magnetic ink used by the ECP during 2013′s general elections was no more than six hours, which may have reduced further owing to the hot season.
The Additional Secretary also confirmed that if provinces requested the Supreme Court for delaying the polls, ECP will endorse their point of view.
He said the ECP had already stated before the apex court that the given time is insufficient for free, fair and transparent elections.
The committee unanimously recommended that the announced schedule of the Local Bodies Elections be reviewed and delayed for a few months in Punjab and Sindh.
It also unanimously recommended that the PWP-II programme be continued in light of the directions given by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It was decided that Secretary, Ministry of Finance & Revenue, Planning and Development and Housing will be called in the next meeting of the Standing Committee to discuss the allocation of funds for the said programme.
Additional Secretary ECP said the Election Commission was already reviewing the K-P government’s suggestion regarding the installation of the biometric thumb impression device at all polling stations in K-P and all over the country.
He clarified, though, that the device could only be installed in a dust free atmosphere, which was impossible in Pakistan, given polling stations happen to be located in schools and college buildings here.
A total of 400, 000 biometric devices will be required for local bodies elections in the country. If the said devices were to be installed, the ECP would need an approximate Rs15-20 billion at least.
The meeting was attended by Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Mohammad-Afzal Khan Dhandla, Dr Nisar Ahmad Jatt, Chaudhary Salman Haneef Khan, Ms. Shahida Khalid Parvez, Ms. Shahida Rehmani,and Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak, MNAs, besides senior officers from Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Election Commission of Pakistan.
LG elections: (Still) not enough time to print ballot papers, says ECP – The Express Tribune
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KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Sindh president Haleem Adil Sheikh announced the party’s decision to boycott the local bodies’ (LB) elections,Express News reported on Thursday.
He said that the party “cannot stay quiet over such injustice,” adding that they have decided to boycott LB elections in Sindh because of rigging and illegal delimitation.
The elections are due to be held on January 18.
Earlier, the party had said that a census should be conducted and the delimitation process should be repeated as it had not been conducted properly.
On December 19, Barrister Farogh Naseem had expressed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) reservations about delimitations in districts Malir and South, terming them illegal and unfair. Barrister Naseem had said that local bodies’ elections were part of a democratic process but it has been sabotaged and delimitations before the local government polls was an indication of rigging in the polls.
Another bump in the road: PML-Q boycotts upcoming LB elections – The Express Tribune
