The polling process for by-elections in 11 constituencies in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued without incident on Sunday morning.
According to a report by Radio Pakistan, polling will continue uninterrupted till 5pm.
The by-elections are being held for three seats each of the national and provincial assembly in Faisalabad, Nankana Sahib and Multan in Punjab; three NA seats in Charsadda, Peshawar and Mardan in KP; and two NA seats in Sindh’s Korangi and Malir.
The ECP said in a statement that it has passed “strict instructions” to provincial election commissioners to ensure the immediate arrest of anyone that tries to influence the polling process.
And if any government official is found involved in election rigging, not only should that person be arrested immediately and legal procedures be followed, but that matter should be referred to the ECP for disciplinary action, it added.
In a later statement, the ECP said its control rooms are “operating 24 hours a day” at the Islamabad Secretariat, and on the provincial and district levels.
The control room can be contacted at 051-8848888 and 051-9204403 regarding any election-related complaint.
Sindh:
Polling continued without incident in Karachi, according to Private News TV. Turnout was said to be low on a balmy Sunday morning.
A heavy contingent of Rangers was patrolling the various areas of the two NA constituencies of Karachi — NA-237 and NA-239, the Sindh Rangers said in a statement, adding that mobile patrols and motorcycle squads were deployed.
Model Colony, Saudabad, Khokhrapar, Malir Halt, Bakra Padi, Malir 15, Quaidabad and Manzil Pump, were the areas that the Rangers were patrolling, according to the statement.
The Karachi Police, meanwhile, said more than 7,000 personnel are performing security duties to ensure the polling process is peaceful.
“Rapid response teams of the police and Rangers have been deployed at sensitive polling stations to deal with any untoward incident,” the statement added, urging the public to keep an eye on their surroundings and immediately report any suspicious or unusual activity to the police on helpline 15.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:
In Peshawar’s NA-31 constituency, Returning Officer Saeed Ahmed said agents of political parties are at every booth and the counting process will also be done under their supervision.
“The election staff is bound to give the copy of Form 45 to the polling agent and Election Commission,” Ahmed added.
Politicians urge people to get out and vote:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on people to “fully participate” in the by-elections. In a tweet, he urged people to make a “well-considered decision” because the “development and prosperity of you and your country depends on it”.
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It is unprecedented in the country’s political history that one candidate, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, is running for as many as seven NA seats out of eight up for grabs.
A total of 101 candidates from different political parties and independents are taking part in the vote: 52 in Punjab, 33 in Sindh and 16 in KP. Around 4.472 million voters are registered in these constituencies.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said earlier that a sufficient number of police and Rangers personnel would be deployed for maintaining law and order on the polling day.
A central control room has been established at the ECP head office in Islamabad which will monitor the voting process across the country.
In Punjab, 1,434 polling stations have been established, 979 in KP and 340 in Karachi. The election campaign concluded at midnight on Friday.
Imran Khan has been vigorously running the campaign of his party, while senior PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, who had led all previous by-election campaigns for her party, is presently in London to see her father Nawaz Sharif.
The NA seats were vacated after speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had, on July 28, accepted the resignations of PTI MNAs — nine on general seats and two on reserved seats for women — sparking controversy over the piecemeal acceptance of resignations.