Islamabad: Voting has begun in the high-stakes by-elections for eight National Assembly and three Punjab Assembly seats on Sunday with PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan is contesting on record seven NA seats.
Polling has started at 8:00 am and will continue till 5:00 pm without any break. Police, Rangers and Pakistan Army have been called in for ensuring security.
By-elections are being held in eight constituencies of the National Assembly and three constituencies of the Punjab Assembly. The constituencies of the National Assembly fell vacant after the acceptance of the resignations of PTI members of the Assembly by the Speaker of the National Assembly.
The by-elections are being held on two NA seats in Karachi and three NA seats in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) each. Imran Khan is contesting the by-election on seven seats of the National Assembly. ECP orders stern action against cell phone usage at polling stations.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) took notice of cell phone’s usage at some polling stations during the polling process for by-elections on eight seats of the National Assembly and three of the Punjab Assembly.
The ECP ordered a strict legal action over the usage of cell phones during the polling process.
The ECP issued instructions to the ROs, DROs and provincial election commissioners concerned.
They had been ordered to take a strict legal action against those using mobile phones at polling stations.
“It is strictly forbidden for voters to carry mobile phones at polling stations,” the ECP said.
“This is a violation of the secrecy of the ballot paper over which the mobile phone will be confiscated and the accused will be handed over to the police,” it warned.
It is to be noted here that some voters had filmed videos and uploaded them on social media while casting votes at some polling stations in Karachi and Faisalabad.
Five armed men arrested from NA-24
The police have arrested five armed persons in Charsadda’s area of Umarzai as voting in NA-24 by-election continued.
According to DPO Charsadda Sohail Khalid these armed persons were belonged to different political parties.
Special arrangements have been made in the constituency by the election authorities to make the polling transparent. However, the turnout at polling stations was not much encouraging so far.
PTI, PML-N workers clash in Khanewal
The workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and those of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) clashed at polling station (136) in PP-209 constituency, Khanewal.
The brawl occurred after the workers of PTI blamed those of PML-N for forcibly casting votes.
Police failed to disperse the workers as they continued to stay outside the polling station.
PTI, ANP workers come face to face in Peshawar
The workers of Awami National Party (ANP) and those of PTI came face to face in Peshawar at a polling station.
Both sides exchanged bitter words at which the police intervened. They expelled the workers of both parties from the polling station.
The police also arrested a worker of ANP.
Rumpus at polling station in Faisalabad.
The process of polling was stopped after a rumpus at a polling station in Faisalabad.
The commotion took place after male polling agents entered the polling station (No. 305) of women.
The polling staff called the Rangers to deal with the situation.
Punjab Election Commissioner rejects PTI allegations
The Punjab election commissioner has outrightly rejected allegations levelled by PTI leader Farrukh Habib of transferring PTI votes from the constituencies, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
A spokesman for Punjab Election Commission binned the PTI allegations as baseless and false. “He said the delay in holding by-elections was due to security,” he added.
The spokesman further said that the voters lists are prepared under a process which is transparent and error-free.
Who are facing Imran Khan on seven NA seats
In NA-31 Peshawar, Imran Khan is contesting the by-election against Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Ghulam Ahmad Bilour.
In NA-22 Mardan, he is contesting against Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) candidate Maulana Qasim.
In NA-24 Charsadda, he is contesting against ANP candidate Aimal Wali Khan.
In NA-108 Faisalabad, a tough contest is expected between Imran Khan and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Abid Sher Ali.
In NA-118, PML-N candidate Shazra Mansab is contesting the by-election against Imran Khan.
In NA-237 Karachi, a tough contest is expected between Imran Khan and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Abdul Hakeem Baloch.
In NA-239 Karachi, MQM candidate Nayyar Raza is contesting the by-election against Imran Khan.
Security measures
Contingents of Pakistan Army, Rangers and Frontier Corps (FC) have been deployed to provide security to the presiding officers and other staff at polling stations.
The presiding officers have been directed to send the picture of Farm-45 to the returning officer concerned on WhatsApp.
The presiding officers have also been directed to keep the location of their cell phones on.
CEC statement
While giving instructions to the officers concerned, the chief election commissioner (CEC) said that no one would be allowed to violate the law.
“If any government employee is found involved in fraud, he should be arrested immediately,” he ordered.
“The case of such person should be referred to the election commission so that an immediate action could be taken against him,” he added.
ECP preparations
The Election Commission of Pakistan has completed all the arrangements to avoid any untoward situation. A central control room has been set up at the headquarters of Election Commission of Pakistan in Islamabad which will monitor the polling process.
According to a press release, the control room will monitor the situation and will continue to function uninterruptedly till the results of the by-elections. In his statement pertaining to the polls in different constituencies, the Chief Election Commissioner said that no interference will be tolerated during the polling.