LAHORE, Aug 18: Law and Local Government Minister Basharat Raja said on Thursday that the first phase of the local elections was completed in Punjab without any major law and order problem and the minor incidents took place during the day did not affect the polling process.

Official reports from all over the province indicated that four people were killed in different cities in addition to around 50 incidents of violence.

Officials claimed that one man was killed at a polling station in Sahiwal over a personal enmity while the three others were killed in Gujranwala, Muzaffargarh and elsewhere in election-related disputes.

Talking to reporters, the minister said the elections were held in an impartial, transparent and fair manner. The government acted as an impartial umpire, he said rejecting the allegations of rigging by the opposition parties.

He said the people used their right to franchize without any pressure or fear. It remained peaceful at the grass roots level, and the minor incidents of violence did not create any major problem, he said.

The minister said the government wanted to keep the local bodies free of political confrontation and dirty politics. It owned all candidates whether they would be elected or rejected by the people.

He said the overall peaceful elections bespoke the government’s foolproof arrangements to ensure free and fair local polls.

During the first phase, the people cast their votes for 21,502 seats of 1,654 union councils of 17 Punjab districts. The total number of voters and polling stations was around 17.847 million and 27,751, respectively.