Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad on Sunday expressed satisfaction on the peaceful holding of by-elections in NA-122, NA-144 and PP-147. Talking to media persons here, the secretary said that the by-polls on all the constituencies were held peacefully due to the efforts of law enforcement agencies and Pakistan Army.
He said that for the first time the ECP had deputed polling officials from Khyber Pakthunkhwa and Balochistan. According to him, the decision to appoint district returning officers and returning officers in the constituencies from other provinces was taken to ensure free, fair and transparent by-elections.
The Secretary further said that no officials from the federal as well as Punjab governments were deployed as returning officers.
About the complaints regarding alleged irregularities, he said that the ECP had received 35 complaints but not of a serious nature. Regarding security arrangements, he said that more than 6,000 army personnel were deployed at polling stations to assist the civilian law enforcement agencies in maintenance of law and order during the process of voting.
He lauded the efforts of Pakistan Army and LEAs for ensuring law and order in the constituencies. The Secretary also thanked the political parties for keeping peaceful environment during the process of polling. Meanwhile, according to a statement by ECP, the polling for by-elections is being monitored in a special control room, set up at the ECP Headquarters. It stated that the process of monitoring will continue till announcement of complete results.
The ECP further stated that over 30 complaints of minor nature were received during the polling process and were addressed accordingly. The statement further said that the process of counting would also be overseen to ensure complete transparency.