The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has received 72,395 complaints about the violation of election code of conduct in the Punjab since it launched a monitoring system across the country in early April.
Special monitoring teams have been monitoring each provincial and national assembly constituency to ensure that the code of conduct was implemented.
Violations include use and display of weapons, oversized banners, loud music and use of loud speakers, blocking roads for political rallies or organising rallies without permission from the ECP.
District Election Commissioner Abid Husain regretted that regular reminder to the candidates about the code of conduct, most of them and their supporters had violated the rules.
He said some 300 complaints were received from Faisalabad district. Most of them (violators) have been charged with firing in the air, wall-chalking, pasting on walls and cars, and use of oversized banners.
He said the Police Department as well as the district administration needed to take stricter action to implement the code of conduct.
He said the returning officers had summoned several candidates, including former opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz, former law minister Rana Sanaullah, former MNA Abid Sher Ali and former federal minister Rana Farooq Saeed Khan.
“They have all rendered apologies and undertaken not to repeat the violations,” Husain added.
Show cause notices issued
In Sialkot, Khwaja Muhammad Asif, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate in NA-110, principal of the Government Degree Postgraduate College and deputy district officer (colleges) have been issued show cause notices for violation of the election code of conduct.
The notices were issued on Wednesday by Returning Officer Additional District Judge Nadeem Gulzar.
The Express Tribune was told that the principal and the DO had been apparently
campaigning for the candidate.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2013.