ISLAMABAD The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) took severe notice of “aerial firing” that occurred at an election rally in a Karachi constituency and issued an order targeting Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) candidate Irfanullah Khan Marwat.
Following the incidence of “aerial firing” during electioneering in Karachi East district, which violated the ECP’s code of conduct, the nation’s top electoral authority directed the Sindh Inspector General Police (IGP) to take harsh action against the GDA candidate.
The commission has directed the provincial police chief to formally notify them of the legal actions taken against Marwat, the candidate running for the provincial seat of PS-105 Karachi East-IX.
A spokesman for the ECP claims that the candidate was given a show-cause notice by the district monitoring officer for violating clause 17 of the code, with instructions to respond within two days.
The commission also sent out a notice to candidates and political parties mandating that they end all forms of electioneering, including rallies, corner meetings, and other political events, on the night of February 6–7, ahead of the countrywide votes scheduled for February 8.
The order threatened legal action against those who violated Section 182 of the Election Act of 2017.
Nearly 18,000 candidates are expected to compete for general seats in the national and local legislatures as voters prepare for the election, according to The News.
Yesterday, the ECP made available on Form-33 the final list of candidates running for the NA and provincial assemblies.
At least 11,785 of these 17,816 candidates will run unaffiliated, while 6,031 will run under the auspices of their respective political parties.
