Punjab home dept for postponing NA-133 by-election
Punjab home dept for postponing NA-133 by-election
LAHORE (Dunya News) – The Punjab home department has requested the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the by-elections in NA-133 Lahore.
A letter was sent to the ECP by the Punjab home department requesting postponement of NA-133 by-poll keeping in view the current situation of the country.
In its letter, the Punjab home department said that according to a recent intelligence report, it is difficult to hold elections now.
On the other hand, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had taken notice of code of conduct violation by the candidates in NA-133 by-election.
The Returning Officer (RO) sought clarification from PTI’s Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz Malik and PPP’s Ch Aslam Gill as well as sought reply from the three candidates on November 1.
The ECP has issued notices to the candidates for placing panaflex banners and billboards in the constituency above the required size.
It may be recalled that senior PML-N leader Pervaiz Malik had passed away due to illness after which by-elections were announced in this constituency.
In the 2018 elections, PML-N s Pervaiz Malik had won with more than 89,000 votes, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Ejaz Chaudhary had secured more than 77,000 votes.
The Election Commission had fixed Dec 5 for by-poll in NA-133 and also issued code of conduct.
The ECP notification says: “No government or authority shall post or transfer any official in the district where the schedule for byelection in NA-133 is announced till the publication of name of returned candidate. No government functionary or elected representative including a local government functionary shall announce any development scheme for the constituency where election is under process till Dec 5.”
Candidates can file their nominations till Oct 25. Scrutiny of the papers will be done on Oct 30 and an appeal.
