ECP issues 80-point code of conduct for elections

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued an 80-point code of conduct for general elections, scheduled for February 8, 2024.

The code of conduct covers everything from rules for campaigning, taking out processions as well as polling day.

The code of conduct’s points is split across seven major headings. The key points are as follows:

General Conduct

• Parties, candidates or agents should not act in a way prejudicial to the integrity and sovereignty of the country or defame the armed forces or judiciary.

• No gifts or inducements should be used by one candidate to stop him from contesting or withdrawing.

• Parties, candidates or agents should not make formal or informal agreements to exclude men, women or transgenders from the voting process.

• Parties should cooperate with law enforcement and make sure no ballots etc are destroyed.

• Candidates should not enlist the help of any public official.

• There should be no incitement to violence on or before polling day.

Campaign

• The Political parties, candidates and election agents shall firmly restrain their workers from exerting influence on the print and electronic media.

• The president, prime minister, chairman/deputy chairman senate, speaker/deputy speaker of an assembly, federal ministers, ministers of state, governors, chief ministers, provincial ministers and advisors to the prime minister and the chief minister, mayor/chairman/Nazim, their deputies, shall not participate in the election campaign.

• There shall be a complete ban on convening, holding or attending any public meeting, or promoting or joining in any procession 48 hours after polls end.

Publicity

• No political party shall run a publicity campaign in print, social and electronic media at the cost of public exchequer.

• Distribution of voter’s perchee at the polling station on polling day will be allowed but the printing of name and election symbol of the candidate and Political Party on the perchee shall be strictly prohibited.

• Prescribed sizes: Posters 18 lnches x 23 inches, Handbills/ pamphlets / leaflets 9“ x 6“, Banners 3’ x 9’, Portraits 2’ x3’.

• Affixing of posters on public places including bridges, national institutions and installations shall be strictly prohibited.

• Ban on hoardings, billboards, wall chalking, and panaflexes of any size.

• Political parties, candidates and election agents are expected to avoid the printing of Quranic verses and Hadith on publicity materials.

Meetings/processions

• The organisers in consultation with the District administration shall take steps in advance to arrange for passage of the procession so that there is no blockage of or hindrance to traffic.

• lf two or more political parties or candidates intend to take out processions over the same route or parts thereof at about the same time, the organizers shall establish contact well in advance.

• Use of effigies should be banned.

• Vehicles/ car rallies shall be prohibited.

• Political parties, candidates, their supporters, government/local government functionaries or elected representatives, shall not announce or inaugurate, openly or in secret, their overall development schemes.

• Organising demonstrations or picketing before the house of an individual to protest against his political opinion or activities shall not be allowed.

Polling Day

• Agents should display ID cards and cooperate with officials.

• On Polling Day, there shall be a complete ban within a radius of 400 meters of a polling station on all kinds of campaigns

• No candidate, election agent or any of their supporters or a polling agent shall interfere or create hindrance in any manner in official functioning

• No one without a valid pass from the Election Commission or Provincial Election Commissioner, District Returning Officer or Returning Officer concerned shall enter the polling station.

Additional

• The general public is also expected to assist the Election Commission in the effective implementation of the Code of Conduct.

• Bribery, personation, undue influence, capturing of polling station or polling booth, tampering with papers and making or publishing a false statement or declaration, exceeding the limit of election expenses can lead to action.

For polling agents

• In addition to the other points, the code of conduct also outlines 14 points related to the actual polling process itself.

• The Election agent or Polling agent shall not solicit the vote from any voter for his candidate in the vicinity of a polling station.

• Polling agents can raise objections on any voter because the voter has already voted in the election at the same or another polling station, or is not the person whose name is entered in the electoral roll.

• Polling agents must know that such voters who are blind or otherwise require assistance to vote are permitted by law to select any individual to accompany them.

• Polling agent should be aware of the fact that under the law, the Presiding Officer if he considers it necessary, may recount the votes of his motion.

• Polling agent shall neither unnecessarily accuse the presiding officer of making biased decisions nor shall level unfounded allegations upon him.

On Tuesday, the electoral watchdog issued guidelines for candidates filing nomination papers for national and provincial assembly seats.

ECP said the nomination papers could be obtained from respective returning officers at office working hours from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm from December 20 to December 22, 2023.

As per the ECP guidelines, the fee for obtaining one nomination paper’s form is fixed at Rs10, and one candidate can submit a maximum of five nomination papers with different proposers/seconders.

The fee for submission of a nomination paper for a National Assembly seat is Rs30,000 and Rs 20,000 for a provincial assembly seat is non-refundable.