PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan has directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary to transfer the Torghar deputy commissioner and not post him in any of the districts where the local body elections are scheduled on March 31.

The ECP wrote to the chief secretary to post his substitute immediately for ensuring peaceful conduct of the elections in the district.

The letter was issued in light of a hearing of the commission chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The ECP order stated that the Shaukat Hussain was appointed district monitoring officer (DMO) for Torghar on March 15, and after his notification, the official went to meet the deputy commissioner, who also happened to be the district returning officer.

The order said the DMO had informed the DC about the problems he was facing in removing publicity material, including panaflexes, and effective implementation of the code of the conduct by the political parties. However, the order added the DC used abusive language and derogatory remarks against the DMO and the commission.

It said the deputy commissioner Fawad Khan, who was also present in the commission’s hearing, asked for fixing his matter after the local body elections.

However, the commission in its order noted that the DC had failed to facilitate it in the smooth election process and his official conduct did not appear to be impartial, which created doubts about his neutrality.

The commission also directed the chief secretary to not assign duty to the Torghar DC in any future elections.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2022