ISLAMABAD
While terming the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) claim of changes in the voter lists of the 20 by-election constituencies a propaganda, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) stated Friday that the by-polls on the 20 Punjab Assembly seats were being held on the previous voter lists.
“The voter lists are frozen after the announcement of the election schedule to facilitate the preparation of the polling schemes,” the ECP spokesperson said. “No changes can be made to the voter lists after the announcement of the election schedule until the polls are concluded in the constituency concerned,” he added.
“The statements that have been made on media about the voter lists are baseless and contrary to the facts,” he stated. “This is a purely propaganda technique through which the public is being misled,” he said and vowed that transparent and peaceful elections would be ensured on the 20 Punjab Assembly seats.
It is to be noted here that the ECP issued the aforementioned statement on Friday after multiple press conferences from the PTI leaders – Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry, in which they announced to challenge the ‘pre-poll rigging’ in the by-polls through the induction of unknown voters into the lists.
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) condemned ‘baseless allegations’ being levelled by former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan against the commission and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.
In a message from its Twitter handle, the ECP said that no institution could be declared a traitor if people starts labeling them as traitors. “We want to clarify that the election commission will not be provoked or pressurized and will continue to make decisions as per the constitution and law,” the ECP said. =DNA
