ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Friday assured the provision of a level playing field to all political parties including Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf during the upcoming general elections

In an informal chat with reporters after the Supreme Court’s order on the poll schedule, he said that all political parties will be allowed to hold rallies in a city where permission is given to one party.

He said the Supreme Court’s verdict will be complied with, but noted that the schedule should have been issued after the training of returning officers (ROs) which had to be suspended a day after being launched following Lahore High Court’s Order suspending notification of appointment of election officials.

He said that Returning Officers from the bureaucracy had been drawn after the judiciary refused to spare officers from the lower courts for the job.

Notifications for appointment of DROs, ROs restored; training of ROs to restart from tomorrow

The CEC said that anyone having an objection against ROs could approach the Election Commission of Pakistan, which was empowered to change them on a complaint.

The CEC said it was his desire that the political leadership sits together, observing that collective wisdom can help resolve the problems confronting the country.

Mr Raja dispelled the impression that he was against PTI, adding that Imran Khan was his favourite sportsman and he even had a photo of him at his residence.

He, however, made it clear that cases against PTI will be taken up and decided on merit.

The CEC stressed the need for democracy within political parties and said that all political parties should hold transparent intra-party elections.

He revealed that the ECP wanted a role in the monitoring of intra-party polls of political parties, but all political parties opposed the move. In reply to a question, he said the PML-N has reservations over delimitations of some constituencies in Lahore.

As the CEC was sitting with the journalists before presiding over a meeting to give a final shape to the poll schedule, former finance minister and senior PML-N leader Ishaq Dar posted on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that the ECP has issued the election schedule under which nomination papers will be received by returning officers from Dec 20 to Dec 25.

Meanwhile, with the announcement of the election schedule, the ECP has also restored the suspended notifications for appointment of District Returning Officers (DROs), Returning Officers (ROs) and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs).

It also announced resuming trai­ning for ROs from tomorrow (De­­c­ 17) to be completed on Dec 18. It said the DROs will be imparted training on Dec 19.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2023