Election Commission Of Pakistan Holds Meeting To Discuss Inquiry Reports Regarding Daska By-election

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday discussed reports of two inquiry committees formed to probe Daska by-election

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Nov, 2021 ) :The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday discussed reports of two inquiry committees formed to probe Daska by-election.

The meeting held here under the Chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja was attended by Election Commission Members Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Mahmood Jatoi, Secretary ECP and senior officials of the commission.

According to the press release issued by ECP, the commission had formed two inquiry committees on NA-75 Sialkot (Daska) by-election.

According to details, the first committee comprising Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gull, Regional Election Commissioner Gujranwala Majid Sharif Dogar and Mujahid Sherdil Special Secretary Department of Finance Punjab to probe against the administrative officers. The mandate of this committee was to determine the negligence in duty on the day of polling, due to which law and order was violated, officers responsible for the delivery and return of goods from the office of the Returning Officer in the security fence and officers who violated the law were to be identified so that disciplinary action could be taken against them.

The second committee comprising Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gull was set up to ascertain the facts of the presiding officers and security personnel on duty who went missing on election night and came to the office of the Returning Officer on the morning of February 20, 2021.

The mandate of the Inquiry Officer was to seek the assistance of an expert body and make it possible to obtain forensics in order to find out where the Presiding Officers stayed which led to the delay in the result and why did they appear before the Returning Officer late on February 20, 2021 with the polling materials? Both inquiry reports were available on the Election Commission's website.

In view of the administrative shortcomings of the District Returning Officer (DRO) and the Returning Officer (RO), both the officers had been made OSD by directing them to report to the ECP so that further action could be taken against them in the light of the inquiry report.

It was further decided that action would be taken against the officers and employees hepd responsible in the two inquiries and a committee comprising Special Secretary, DG Law, Director HR and DD Law was constituted in this regard who would assist the Election Commission. This committee would be headed by the Secretary Election Commission.

The ECP would initiate departmental proceedings or criminal proceedings or both in the light of the inquiry report. The next formal meeting of the commission would be held within a week.