ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has dismissed as baseless, malicious and misleading news reports in a section of the press that asserted that the commission had not declared results of the first phase of the local bodies elections.

In a statement, ECP Secretary Kanwar Mohammad Dilshad observed that some politicians had issued statements that the ECP had not issued results of the first phase without verifying facts from the commission.

He clarified that immediately after the closure of voting on August 18, counting was done by presiding officers at the polling stations in the presence of other staff and polling agents.

Mr Dilshad said copies of count statement were provided to the polling agents and also affixed outside the polling stations for public information.

Later, the returning officers after receipt of results from all presiding officers announced the result locally, he said, adding that the unofficial or preliminary result was then communicated to the central control room/results receiving centre in the Election Commission Secretariat, Islamabad.

The secretary said Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar announced the first received preliminary results the same night at a press conference covered by a large number of representatives of print and electronic media.

Arrangements were also made for supplying copies of preliminary results, as and when received in the result receiving centre, to the representatives of media, but except one news agency no one showed any interest in it.

The chief election commissioner and the ECP firmly believed in openness and transparency of the election process. That was why representatives of media were allowed unrestricted access to the central control room of the Election Commission to get copies of results received, if they so desired, the secretary maintained.

In pursuance of relevant provisions of law, the returning officers carried out consolidation of result in the prescribed manner. This consolidated or official result had also been published by the ECP in the official gazette on August 23.