ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on Monday, bestowed upon returning officers (ROs) and presiding officers (POs) powers equivalent to those of first-class magistrates to guarantee smooth conduct of upcoming by-elections on April 21 for five National Assembly seats and 16 provincial assembly seats across the country.
A statement issued by the ECP said that district returning officers (DROs) and ROs were granted magisterial powers under Section 193 of the Election Act of 2017.
The POs will be able to use the authority during the by-elections, which will be held between April 20 and 22 in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan, and until the final results are announced.
The ROs and DROs will have the authority to take action against a candidate for violating the ECP’s code of conduct. They will be able to exercise the powers of a first-class magistrate over offenses falling under Sections 169 and 171.
The officers could also begin legal proceedings under Section 190 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and conduct summary trials as per Chapter XX of the code.
The by-elections for many of the constituencies were postponed on February 8 due to various reasons including the death of contesting candidates and candidates running for multiple seats. Additionally, some constituencies were vacated by winners of dual seats.
The NA seats on which by-elections will take place included NA-8 Bajaur, NA-44 Dera Ismail Khan-I, NA-119 Lahore-III, NA-132 Kasur-II, and NA-196 Kamber Shadadkot-I.
The elections on NA-8 Bajaur were suspended after a candidate contesting as an independent was shot dead.
Meanwhile, the NA-44 seat fell vacant after newly-elected KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur opted to retain the provincial assembly seat he won from DI Khan.
The NA-119 Lahore-III seat was vacated after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz went for the provincial seat which she had won, while NA-132 Kasur fell vacant after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to retain his NA-123 Lahore-VII seat.
Moreover, the NA seats from Sindh’s constituency, NA-196 Kamber Shadadkot-I was vacated after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari retained the seat he won in Larkana.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed.