ECP has issued orders before LG polls in Punjab in order to avoid pre-poll rigging. The directive said, “The Election Commission is pleased to advise all the government dignitaries and public servants to kindly follow the code of conduct/ rules of elections notified for such election and avoid announcement of any development schemes or inauguration of any such scheme/development projects during the election campaign. “In case of any violation of the code of conduct by any government dignitary during the election campaign, the Election Commission of Pakistan would take serious notice and strict action would be taken as per rules and the code of conduct,” it cautioned. Despite the fact that the ECP has taken a week to take notice of the Rs341 billion package that was announced on September 15, the body has made a bold and important move. Earlier, an ECP official had claimed that the package was not a violation of the election code, however, only a day later the ECP determined that the package could be a potential violation of the election code. Since the code of conduct for the media was announced on August 26, the prime minister’s package could come under severe criticism for being a pre-poll rigging tactic. The ECP has also written to Pemra to ensure that no violations of its code take place on TV channels and directed it to ensure balanced coverage for the political parties taking part in the Sindh and Punjab LB elections. The issue of the package is to be discussed this week, but what is uncertain is what meaningful action can be taken by the electoral body if the package is found to be in violation of the election code. What complicates the issue of the Kissan Package is that it was issued in response to months of farmer’s protests. Given that the LB elections are to be conducted over a period of four months, does it mean that the government cannot provide any emergency relief to interest groups who are suffering till the entire election process is over? Determining this is now the job of the ECP. The ECP has confirmed that it is serious about keeping the playing field even in the upcoming local bodies polls. This is a good sign.
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