LAHORE, Oct 20: Alleging pre-poll rigging in the local government election by the government, the opposition in Punjab Assembly has sought one-week extension in deadline for filing objections to delimitations for local constituencies.
Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, opposition leader Mian Mahmoodur Rashid said all opposition parties in Punjab had rejected the delimitations for being “unconstitutional” and “illegal” as the job was being done in accordance with the demands of PML-N workers.
He said constitutionally only the Election Commission of Pakistan could do the demarcation of constituencies but the PML-N government was doing the task at the behest of its MPs and likely candidates for local polls while the rivals were not being given maps of the new constituencies.
“The PML-N is doing delimitation work keeping in view the success of its likely candidates in the local body polls and that’s unacceptable to us.”
Complaining that the time given for filing objections to the delimitations was too short, he demanded that the government should extend it by one week.
For Lahore constituencies, 200 objections have been submitted to the district coordination officer, while the PTI, the party he belongs to, has already moved courts against the government’s measure.
Mr Rashid also alleged that the government had distributed Rs10 million each among its MPAs as part of pre-poll rigging in the name of development funds. Punjab President of PTI Ijaz Chaudhry directed party activists at an Eid Milan party here that they should prepare themselves for local body polls.
He alleged that the PML-N came into power through rigging and that PTI activists would take to the street if no action was taken by the institutions concerned against the rigging.
Provincial spokesperson Naeem Mir termed delimitations by the district administration a partial and an unconstitutional job. He believed that the courts would strike down this ‘illegal’ delimitation process.
He alleged that the N-League had already selected chairpersons of municipal corporations and committees and the polling day would be just a formality.
ISF: Responding to a query about closing down Insaf Students Federation offices in Lahore, the spokesperson said as party offices had been opened in the city more than required so these surplus offices were being shut down.
Denying that the ISF was being disowned after using it during general elections, Mir said it was not a constitutional wing of the party.
The student wing, he said, was and should be confined to educational institutions and it had nothing to do with political working in residential areas thus no question of consulting the ISF for local polls.
