LG polls: Voters protest outside ‘locked’ ECP polling stations in Islamabad

Polls - The News Today - TNT

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) kept all of its polling stations locked in the federal capital as people headed out to their respective stations to cast their votes Saturday morning in the Islamabad local government polls.

The voters, while standing in a queue outside the polling stations, recorded their protests after witnessing the closed offices and the absence of the ECP’s staff.

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A day earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC), while accepting the petitions of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) for nullification of ECP’s decision of LG polls’ deferral, directed the electoral body to hold the elections as per the schedule. But the ECP challenged the IHC order today.

The electoral body had cancelled the December 31 schedule to hold the local government elections in the federal capital earlier this week, citing the change in the union councils of the capital territory.

However, the high court in its one-page short order, asked the federal government to ensure that “it assists the election commission in holding the local government polls”.

Earlier this morning, the ECP filed an intra-court appeal against the orders of the high court to hold local government polls in Islamabad today.

The PTI, taking to Twitter, claimed that voters are waiting outside the stations, but that the ECP staff is missing despite the court’s orders to hold elections.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan said that the ECP has “shown it is B team of imported government and its backers” by not implementing IHC’s orders.

“PDM, fearful of the people, is running away from all elections. Right to vote is a fundamental democratic norm & PTI stands committed to it,” he added.

Read more: ECP challenges IHC’s order to hold LG polls in capital today

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