19 May 2004	Wednesday	28 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, May 18: Deputy secretary general of the Pakistan Peoples' Party and its parliamentary leader in the Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, on Tuesday said that appropriate steps on the part of Election Commission could have saved the lives of those, who died during the recent by-polls in the city.

In a statement issued from Bilawal House, Mr Rabbani claimed that soon after the announcement of the by-election schedule, the major partner in the ruling coalition government had allegedly begun pre-poll rigging.

He pointed out that despite the orders by the chief election commissioner and Sindh chief minister, barring transfers and postings, SHOs and many other government functionaries were changed overnight.

He said that the opposition parties had strongly objected to these developments and submitted their grievances in writing to the Election Commission, but except some verbal assurances, no practical steps were taken to address the situation.

He said that if the EC had taken up the matter with the provincial government, the transfer and posting orders could have been withdrawn. Mr Rabbani also asked the Election Commission that why, despite mobilizing of the law-enforcement agencies by the EC, so many political activists were killed and kidnapped on the polling day?

Referring to the Chief Election Commissioner, Justice Irshad Hassan Khan's statement of May 6, in which he had said that district returning officers, ROs, AROs and presiding officers had been given powers of a first class magistrate, Mr Rabbani asked why theses officials failed to exercise those powers in defending the polling agents against abductions and why activists of a ruling party were not punished for allegedly creating law and order situation and stuffing of the ballot-boxes?

He also reiterated the PPP's claim that in contravention to the EC's orders, ministers and advisors of the ruling party were present inside many polling stations. He demanded that in view of such large-scale 'irregularities,' the by-elections be declared null and void and an inquiry commission headed by a Supreme Court judge be set up.