ISLAMABAD
\nChief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja on Wednesday said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was under no pressure and was functioning independently sans having any favourites or adversaries.
\nAddressing the National Voters\u2019 Day function, he said the Commission was taking decisions in accordance with the law of the land. A number of initiatives, including the introduction of modern technology, had been taken to make the ECP a modern institution.
\nThe elements who resorted to lawlessness or committed irregularities during the electoral process were taken to task, he added. As a result of such steps, the confidence of people in elections, democratic process and the Commission had increased, Sikandar Raja said.
\nTransparency and accountability, he said, had been ensured in the Commission\u2019s work. The code of conduct was implemented without any discrimination in the recent by-elections, and 16 out of 35 by-polls were won by the then opposition parties, he added.
\nThe transparency in the by-elections was lauded by all, he said. The Commission, the CEC said, managed to hold local government elections despite reluctance shown by the respective provincial governments.
\nThe LG polls in the Federal Capital would be held on December 31 and in the flood-hit areas of Balochistan on Sunday, while the second phase of municipal elections in Sindh was scheduled on January 15 (next year).
\nSikandar Raja said the ECP fully backed the use of technology in the electoral process, but all the stakeholders should have a consensus in that regard. Such technology should be introduced, which should help the people exercise their right to franchise easily, besides ensuring the secrecy of the vote, he stressed.
\nHe said the ECP was not opposed to the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and voting rights for overseas Pakistanis. However, any decision taken in haste in that regard could make the whole electoral process suspicious, which, according to experts, might create anarchy in the country.
\nThe software developed for the overseas Pakistanis to vote was also reportedly unreliable, he added.
\nThe CEC said the Commission was planning to use the EVMs on an experimental basis during the next elections to ascertain their feasibility. It had also made arrangements for the printing of ballot papers and other material within its premises.
\nA new website having complete information for the public would be launched, while the ECP would also set up a modern data centre, he added. He said the ECP was planning to shift its offices to its own buildings. Some 29 plots had so far been purchased, including 18 in Punjab and 11 in Balochistan for the purpose.
\nHe said a campaign was underway in 103 districts of Balochistan to encourage women to obtain Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs). About 3.8 million women had been enlisted in the electoral rolls just in one year with the help of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
\nSikandar Raja also distributed prizes among the winners of the painting competition titled \u201cYour vote to a promising future\u201d, organized by the Commission last month in connection with the National Voters Day.
\nFatima Shakir got the first prize of Rs 100,000, while Zainab Rauf was given the second prize of Rs 50,000 prize and Zala Gul third prize of Rs 25,000.
\nEarlier, ECP Secretary Omer Hamid Khan, in his welcome address, said progress was possible through ballot. Regional offices of ECP has been linked with each other through fibre optic link.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja on Wednesday said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was under no pressure and was functioning independently sans having any favourites or adversaries. Addressing the National Voters\u2019 Day function, he said the Commission was taking decisions in accordance with the law of the land. A number of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11771],"class_list":{"0":"post-299933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"tag-sikandar-raja"},"yoast_head":"\n