Daily Times

District administration launched an android phone application on Friday to report violation of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) code of conduct during the upcoming general elections.

The app called Ewatch will ensure free and fair elections by monitoring code of conduct set by ECP with the help of general public.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Umar Jahangir said support of the citizens will help the district administration in conducting free and fair elections. He thanked Nauman Azhar, an official of a private bank for helping the district administration in launching the app.

He said active participation of the citizens is necessary to make the campaign successful that is why the app has been launched. Now, it is the responsibility of the citizens to use it honestly in the best interest of the country irrespective of their party affiliation, he added.

By using Ewatch, citizens can report violations regarding firing, display of weapons, terrorism or blast, use of loudspeaker, wall chalking, suspicious people, oversize boards/posters or any other kind of violation of elections’ code of conduct.

To report any violation, the citizens have to register themselves through their CNICs and contact number. After registration, the citizens will be able to report the violation along with the photo or video of the incident/violation.

The app is sponsored by JS Bank. Nauman Azhar, who is the executive officer at JS Bank said, “We have sponsored this app for our Corporate Social Responsibility budget. The purpose of this app is to make sure the implementation of election code of conduct for free and fair elections. We are training the officers of district administration about how to use this app. Hopefully, the officers will start taking action on the reported issues from Saturday,” he added.

While answering a question, Azhar said the app is uploaded to the server of Google Play Store and soon it will be available for the public on the Play Store.

Civil society appreciated the launching of this app to ensure the implementation of the election code of conduct.

Published in Daily Times, July 7^th 2018.