Daily Times

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday discussed reports of two inquiry committees formed to probe alleged irregularities in the Daska by-election.

The meeting held under the Chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja was attended by Election Commission Members Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Mahmood Jatoi, Secretary ECP and senior officials of the commission.

According to a press release issued by ECP, the commission had formed two inquiry committees on NA-75 Sialkot (Daska) by-election. According to details, the first committee comprising Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gull, Regional Election Commissioner Gujranwala Majid Sharif Dogar and Mujahid Sherdil Special Secretary Department of Finance Punjab to probe against the administrative officers. The mandate of this committee was to determine the negligence in duty on the day of polling, due to which law and order was violated, officers responsible for the delivery and return of goods from the office of the returning officer in the security fence and officers who violated the law were to be identified so that disciplinary action could be taken against them.

The second committee comprising Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gull was set up to ascertain the facts of the presiding officers and security personnel on duty who went missing on election night and came to the office of the returning officer on the morning of February 20, 2021.

The mandate of the inquiry officer was to seek the assistance of an expert body and make it possible to obtain forensics in order to find out where the presiding officers stayed which led to the delay in the result and why did they appear before the returning officer late on February 20, 2021 with the polling materials? Both inquiry reports were available on the Election Commission’s website.

In view of the administrative shortcomings of the District Returning Officer (DRO) and the Returning Officer (RO), both the officers had been made OSD by directing them to report to the ECP so that further action could be taken against them in the light of the inquiry report. It was further decided that action would be taken against the officers and employees held responsible in the two inquiries. The ECP would initiate departmental proceedings or criminal proceedings or both in the light of the inquiry report.