The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is reviewing an anomaly that has been created by holding the local government (LG) elections in 43 cantonment boards' areas on non-party basis while in the rest of the country polls would be on the party basis, sources said. An ECP official said on Saturday that the LG polls will be held in 43 cantonment boards' areas across the country on April 25, on the non-party basis as the federal government has not amended the Cantonment Act, 1924.
The ECP announced the schedule for local government elections in 43 cantonment areas across the country and authorised returning officers (ROs) to exercise the powers of a first-class magistrate until the announcement of official results. The schedule for the LG elections will be held on the orders of the Supreme Court.
A former ECP secretary told Business Recorder that the PML-N government may not want to disturb the military's cantonment structure which is sensitive to the elected civilians' interference in the matters of boards despite the predominance of the civilian population in major cantonment areas.
The ECP has directed that executive authorities in the federation and provinces will not use state resources in the election for the cantonment boards that may be construed as an attempt to influence the election in favour of a particular candidate.
If any person in the government service misuses an official position in any manner to influence the results of the LG elections, the individual shall be liable to be proceeded against under Section 86 of the Cantonments Ordinance 2002.
The ECP has also banned all transfers and postings of civil servants appointed for the conduct of the elections without the commission's prior approval until the publication of election results.
The prime minister, chief ministers, chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate, speakers and deputy speakers of the national and provincial assemblies, federal and provincial ministers, advisers to the PM and CMs and other holders of public office have been barred from visiting any cantonment board to announce development packages or campaign for any candidate or political party.
Public office holders have been warned that if they violate any provision of the election law or the instructions issued by the ECP, they shall be proceeded against in accordance with the law. A limit of Rs200,000 has been fixed for election expenses for each candidate under the law. With the cantonment boards polls scheduled at the end of next month, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif issued urgent orders to government departments to immediately arrange funds for PML-N's prospective candidates to start development schemes in these localities.
While the realisation of the importance of union council-level development is welcome, the opposition is likely to approach the courts to stop the disbursement of funds to nominees of the PML-N alone, the former secretary said.