February 18, 2008	Monday	Safar 10, 1429

LAHORE, Feb 17: Punjab PPP election monitoring cell president Chaudhry Munawwar Anjum says the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a new polling scheme just two days ahead of the general elections, which includes 398 make-shift/improvised polling stations without giving their whereabouts.

“These polling stations have been shown to poll around 1.32 million fake votes in Punjab,” he alleged.

Speaking at a news conference at the cell office on Sunday, Mr Anjum alleged that the ECP had revised the polling scheme and changed the location of already announced polling stations, placing them from four to seven kilometres away from the previous place to ensure low turnout, which would ultimately benefit the PML-Q.

He said the ECP had originally issued a polling scheme of 38,946 polling stations for Jan 8 elections, while for the Feb 18 poll it reduced the number of polling stations to 38,021. While in the country-wide polling scheme, Punjab would have 37,636 polling stations. “The ECP has not given any reason for reducing the number of polling stations because neither the voters’ list was cut nor the number of election candidates reduced during the last six weeks,” he said.

Mr Anjum said the ECP also informed that it had established 398 make-shift polling stations, including 11 in Lahore, which was beyond comprehension. He said the maximum 89 make-shift polling stations had been established in Khushab district, 52 in Faisalabad, 31 in Jhang, 29 in Sargodha, 25 in Rawalpindi, 24 in Kasur, 18 each in Okara, Gujranwala and D G Khan, 14 in Nankana Sahib, 12 in Muzaffargarh, nine in Rahim Yar Khan and Sialkot, eight in Multan, six in Sheikhupura, five in Sahiwal, four in Bahawalpur, three in Khanewal, two each in Mianwali, Bhakkar, Narowal, Lodhran and Vehari, and one in Mandi Bahauddin.

He said these polling stations should not have been established, because the ECP had already reduced some 925 polling stations. Still, he said, the 398 make-shift polling stations should have been accommodated at 925 cancelled polling sites. “The setting up of make-shift polling stations had been placed under the discretion of district returning officers and returning officers concerned,” he added.

Saying that the ECP had also dispatched some 1.8 million postal ballots across the country, he feared that those ballots would be used for PML-Q candidates.

Mr Anjum said the Cell had referred some 1,024 complaints to the ECP, including those pertaining to interference by Nazims, government support for PML-Q election campaign through the use of official funds and resources, use of police against opposition candidates, politically motivated appointments and transfers, and inefficiency of ECP. He said the ECP, however, took action on only 70 complaints by just constituting inquiries. “No outcome of any complaint has so far come to surface,” he added.

In order to announce election results online, he said the PPP monitoring cell had launched a website, www.ppp-emcpunjab.org. He said the PPP polling agents would send their respective polling stations’ results, which would be uploaded on the website, updating the results and comparing them with those to be given by the ECP.

Mr Anjum said the PPP had also identified sensitive areas and demanded that the caretaker government should move army and Rangers to those areas to ensure smooth and transparent polling.

Mr Anjum also demanded that the government should withdraw sanctions imposed on the media because they would stop it from reporting the actual situation of the election.