LAHORE: PML-N leader and the party’s candidate for by-polls in the NA-108, Faisalabad, Abid Sher Ali, has been issued a notice by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for violating the code of conduct.

Mr Ali has been making announcements in the mosques of the constituency about the removal of fuel price adjustment (FPA) in the electricity bills by the federal government, says the notice issued by the district monitoring officer on Thursday.

According to the media reports, Abid Sher Ali has allegedly violated the para 42 of the ECP’s electoral code of conduct. The section says: “political parties, candidates, their supporters, local government functionaries or elected representative, shall not announce or inaugurate, openly or in secret, their overall development schemes or development work or do anything which tends to influence the results of an election in favour of or against a particular candidate of political party after the announcement of election programme till the day of polling”.

The officer directed the PML-N candidate to avoid making further violations and summoned him to his office on Friday (today) to explain his position.

Polling for NA-108, Faisalabad-VIII, is scheduled to be held on Sept 25.

Meanwhile, the Sheikhupura district monitoring officer overseeing the by-polls for PP-139 has written to the Punjab IGP, directing him to withdraw orders for a new posting made in the district in violation of the ban imposed on transfers and postings after announcement of the election schedule.

The police department had posted Hafiz Ataur Rehman, a BPS-19 officer, as the Sheikhupura Special Branch SSP on Aug 15.

The monitoring officer asked the IGP to withdraw the transfer and posting orders.

Polling for PP-139 will be held on Sept 11. The seat fell vacant after disgruntled PML-N MPA Mian Jaleel Sharaqpuri resigned a day before the poll for chief minister’s office.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2022