LAHORE, Oct 5: The Election Commission, perhaps over-stretched and exhausted in making arrangements for the presidential polls, is working in haste and committing blunders.

One such blunder was made in a notification issued for declaring two women as elected MPAs against two reserved seats for women in the Punjab Assembly.

The notification issued on Oct 4 with signatures of deputy secretary (elections) Iftikhar Husain Shah duly mentions in the beginning that two seats reserved for women have become vacant due to resignations of Shaheen Attiqur Rehman and Laila Muqaddas of the ruling PML(Q). But, later on, it declares that Saima Mustafa and Shamim Rana of the party have returned to be members of the National Assembly against the vacant seats.

The MPAs-elect took oath of their office during Friday’s session of the provincial assembly despite the issuance of this incorrect notification.

The mistake was spotted by a senior official of the Punjab Assembly secretariat who contacted the Election Commission for the issuance of a correct notification under article 8F(3) of the Conduct of General Election Order 2002.

The ECP immediately filled the two seats vacated by the ruling party’s MPAs but it did not notify election against the seats vacated by the resignations of MPAs elected against reserved seats for women from the quota of PML-N (six) and MMA (two) for the Punjab Assembly.

“Gen Musharraf needs voters and not spoilers,” said an MPA.

He said for the same reason the media had been barred from covering the poll process.