LAHORE, Nov 19: After holding successful intra-party elections at union councils’ level in Islamabad, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief election commissioner Hamid Khan on Monday announced country-wide election schedule beginning from Punjab on Dec 1.

The phased elections in Punjab will complete on Dec 31.

The PTI intra-party elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will begin on Dec 9 and conclude on Dec 19. The elections will then be held in Sindh and Balochistan and complete by the mid or end of January.

The national council formed after the intra-party elections will then elect central leaders from the office of the PTI chairman to lowest rank office-bearer afterwards.

Speaking at a news conference at party’s central media cell, Mr Khan while referring to the elections in Islamabad, said the computerised intra-party poll in 41 union councils on Nov 18 had emerged as a new chapter in country’s history. He said nearly 51 per cent of the total 62,500 registered members had exercised their right to vote to choose as many as 533 party leaders for the federal capital. Each union council elected 13 office-bearers on nine general and four women seats.

He said more than 50 per cent voters had polled their votes through cell phones and SMS messages, while 41 polling stations were established across the federal capital to facilitate those voters, who either did not have access to cell phones or did not know how to vote through the new technology gadgets.

To a question, Mr Khan said the PTCL number, which was allotted for polling votes in intra-party elections, was blocked just half an hour after the polling began. He said the PTI technical staff then worked and got a new code but the voters had to face problems because it was not possible to convey the new code to everybody on the election day.

Condemning the government tactics of blocking the phone numbers dedicated for voting by the workers, Mr Khan vowed that the PTI would face the government’s ‘negative tactics’ bravely. “Still, it was for the first time that the voters exercised their right to vote through modern gadgets and information technology – paving the way for a new, transparent system of voting where the voters were able to choose their leadership without any fear or favour,” he said.

This election would help erode dynastic politics, he added.

Answering a question, PTI central information secretary Shafqat Mahmood said a new political culture had emerged from these elections that would ensure a foundation for change. He said the use of IT technology for polling votes for the cause of free and fair elections could also serve as a beacon of light for the Election Commission of Pakistan to use modern technology for holding the next general elections in a free and fair manner.