Punjab asked to withdraw new law

The Election Commission yesterday ordered the Punjab provincial government to immediately withdraw a new law allowing local government leaders to contest October 10 elections without resigning from their present offices.

The order came a day after Punjab Governor (retd.) Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool promulgated the law, which the opposition said was aimed at facilitating the victory of pro-government political parties in the general elections.

The Election Commission has already enforced the resignation condition for running in the elections in the case of federal and provincial ministers and governors in the present military-led setup.

The local government leaders, who were elected in district level non-party polls held by the government of President Pervez Musharraf last year, were not at a "higher pedestal" than the ministers, the commission said in its order.

"The Chief Election Commissioner (Irshad Hasan Khan) has directed the Punjab governor to immediately withdraw the legislation to ensure fair and transparent forthcoming elections," said a commission statement.

Separately, the Election Commission has recommended to the government to amend the relevant rules to allow candidates to submit party affiliation certificates till the last date for withdrawal of nominations, which is September 12.

Political parties have complained of serious difficulties in putting up protective covering candidates as a result of the existing rules under which party certificates have to be submitted at the time of filing nomination papers.

They expressed fears that if their nominees' papers were rejected by a returning officer they would have no covering candidate to contest the elections.

The commission also announced that vote counting would be done in the presence of polling agents of parties and they would be given certified copies of the statements of count.

The result in each constituency would be made public by the concerned returning officer immediately after the completion of the counts to prevent any tampering afterwards, it said.

The commission denied reports that it had given a contract for computerisation of vote counts to Nestol, a company which is reportedly managed by a federal cabinet minister. "No such contract has been awarded to Nestol or any other firm," it said.

Fortunes of political parties in the forthcoming elections will largely depend on their success in Punjab, home to around 60 per cent of Pakistan's 145 million people and politically the most important province.21_pakist.jpgHafiz Hussain Ahmed displays the flag of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. ©Gulf News