ECP Code Violations Continued through End of Campaign Period
ISLAMABAD, March 11, 2013: The District Long-Term Observers (DLTOs) of the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) have observed political campaigning at Government buildings. Campaign material such as –party flags, banners, posters, stickers or wall chalking was seen at public buildings in ten observed districts, says a press release issued by FAFEN on Monday.
The observers noted seven instances of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) campaign material on the premises of government buildings in two districts of Sindh. The DLTOs also reported having seen campaign material of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) in three government offices in three Punjab districts. The campaign material of five other political parties – Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Awami National Party (ANP), Balochistan National Party (BNP), and Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F) – was seen on the premises of various government offices in five other districts – Ghotki, Kasur, Sialkot, Mardan, and Panjgur. Most of the campaign material was found at the offices of DECs and Deputy Commissioners (DC)/District Coordination Officers (DCOs) and District Police Officers (DPOs). In all, FAFEN observers reported seeing seven posters, five banners, two graffiti, two party stickers and one flag at different government offices.
FAFEN observers reported seeing campaign material of at least seven political parties inside or around government buildings in 10 districts – five in Punjab, three in Sindh, one each in KP and Balochistan.
Observers noted seven instances of PPPP campaign material outside four government offices including DEC offices in two districts of Sindh – Karachi West and Kashmore.
PML-N banners, wall chalking and posters were seen at three government offices in as many districts of Punjab – Bahawalnagar, Okara and Sialkot.
Five other political parties had their campaign material on the premises of government offices in five districts. PTI material was seen in Kasur and Sialkot (Punjab); JI material in Mardan (KP) and Kasur (Punjab); ANP material in Mardan (KP); BNP material in Panjgur (Balochistan) and JUI-F material in Ghotki (Sindh).
FAFEN observers found campaign material of political parties around three (7%) out of 43 observed DEC offices that were located in Sindh. No material was seen in the remaining 40 (93%) offices.
Observers reported seeing a banner, a flag and a poster of PPPP outside the DEC office in Kashmore, and another PPPP poster outside the DEC office in Karachi West. In addition, JUI-F graffiti was found outside the DEC office in Ghotki.
PML-N wall chalking and banners were seen outside the DC/DCO offices in Bahawalnagar and Okara, while PTI had its banners/posters outside the DC/DCO offices in Kasur and Sialkot. A PPPP banner was seen outside the DC/DCO office in Vehari.
The DLTO in Sialkot also reported seeing banners and posters of PPPP outside the DPO office while a poster of JI was observed outside the DPO office in Kasur.
Stickers of ANP and JI were found outside the office of Executive District Officer (Education) in Mardan, while a poster of PML-N was seen outside a police station in Sialkot. Moreover, another poster belonging to BNP was found outside Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) office in Panjgur.
FAFEN recommends that ECP should ensure that no political campaign material is there at any DEC or other government office or location related to election administration. Political parties and citizens should observe public offices across the country and report any campaigning at public offices and ECP and other relevant state institutions should ensure that state property is not used for any political purpose.
For complete report, click here
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