ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan said on Monday that maintaining law and order during the local bodies’ elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the sole responsibility of the provincial government.

The commission said in a statement that an impression had been created that maintaining peace during the polls was the responsibility of the ECP.

Also read: ECP satisfied over LG polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan has blamed the ECP for violence on the polling day.

The ECP said it had arranged additional force through the interior division and the GHQ for maintaining security. Elections, it said, were a joint exercise during which no organisation could absolve itself of its responsibility.

The commission was determined to take action against violations of law, the statement added.

It said there was also a misconception that the ECP was responsible for holding the elections in the entire province on the same day. Because of security requirements for the exercise in which a large number of polling staff was involved the commission had advised the provincial government to hold the elections in phases. But the proposal was not accepted.

Had the elections been held in phases like in 2001 and 2005, the incidents of mismanagement and violence could have been averted, it said.

An ECP official said the provincial election commissioner had proposed holding of the polls in three phases – first in urban areas, to be followed by rural areas, and finally in hilly areas.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2015

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