PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan has rejected the allegations regarding involvement of provincial government in irregularities during the recently held local bodies’ elections, saying Election Commission of Pakistan is responsible for the entire mess.

“The provincial government has written to ECP in October last year to conduct the local government elections in phases on pilot basis at village level with the help of biometric system but it rejected our demand,” the minister told a press conference here on Thursday.

If the EC could order re-election on PK-95 seat in Dir Lower then why it was silent over the complaints against itself regarding local government elections in the province, he questioned.

“The provincial government will extend full support and cooperation to ECP if it deems it fit to announce re-elections in any of the wards and districts,” the minister said. He added that EC should take the decision on the suggestions of a fact finding commission.

Inayatullah says it was duty of ECP to review security measures and train election staff

Mr Khan said that role of provincial government in the elections was to extend logistic support to ECP. It was the duty of ECP to review security measures, hire and train the election staff and provide election material to them, he added.

The minister said that every sensible person could easily understand that in many areas the election symbols of candidates were missing from the ballot papers. It was not duty of the provincial government and the entire responsibility rested with ECP, he added.

“We have noticed that government employees were assigned duty in the elections without taking their departments’ heads into confidence. That’s why several medically unfit and deceased people were included in the list and those too only 72 hours before the polling day. The shortage of election material and late transportation led to chaos and forced people to take away ballot boxes or damaged the ballot papers,” the minister said.

Mr Khan said that provincial government played very responsible role in approving Local Government Act in 2013; accomplished the tough task of delimitations; enacted bylaws and rules and kept liaison with ECP to ensure transfer of powers to local bodies in a befitting manner under the 18th Amendment but ECP did not fulfil its prime responsibility.

Regarding the demand of Awami National Party for dissolution of provincial assembly, the minister said that ANP itself was not serious in its demand as it was also facing similar allegations of rigging in many districts, especially in Charsadda, Mardan and Swabi. He said that ANP was a political party and it could raise such demands.

Regarding Jamaat-i-Islami’s allegations about rigging and criticism of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the minister said that being a minister he was bound to defend the government. PTI was not involved in rigging as a party and if EC was serious it should probe the matter, he added.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play