The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended on Tuesday all mayors, deputy mayors, chairmen and vice-chairmen of all local government bodies across the country. Moreover, the suspended local bodies’ officials include the chiefs of the cantonment boards across the country as well. The ECP said the action was taken to ensure free and fair elections. The commission had earlier transferred civil servants across the country in order to ensure that no bureaucrat could be able to exert influence during the pre-poll and poll process. Moreover, the ECP issued a notification stating that the army officials deployed for polling duty had been given powers of a first-class magistrate. Earlier in the day, military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor informed the media that the army will be assisting the ECP in the conduct of polls from a security perspective. Published in Daily Times, July 11th 2018.