Voters form queues but ECP staff nowhere to be seen

ISLAMABAD: A number of voters had waited outside different polling stations of the Federal Capital to cast their vote in the Islamabad local government (LG) elections. However, the staff of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has disappeared.

Islamabad high court (IHC) ordered to hold LG elections in the federal capital on December 31. As per details, the 101 polling stations assigned by the ECP were remained closed despite IHC orders.

A large number of voters have gathered outside different polling stations in the federal capital as the polling was scheduled to begin at 8 am Saturday. Earlier Saturday, ECP filed an intra-court appeal against the IHC order to hold Islamabad LG polls on December 31.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also decided to contempt pleas against the ECP and the federal government for not complying with the court order for holding Islamabad LG polls.

After the IHC order, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja also chaired an emergency session with the senior officers. Sources said that the commission did not receive any instruction regarding the LG polls on Saturday. They added that neither logistic support nor staff members were available for conducting the elections.