ECP rejects plea seeking Army deployment during CB elections

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected the plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for the deployment of the Pakistan Army during the upcoming elections of the Cantonment Board.

The Election Commission has said that security arrangements have been finalized and Army is not required in presence of Police, Rangers, and FC.

A letter written by PTI chief organizer Senator Saifullah Khan Niazi to the Election Commission said that sub-organizations from across the country are updating with the details of the ongoing election campaign for the Cantonment Board elections. Past experience has shown that elections held without assigning security to the military are subject to suspicion.

He said that the absence of electronic voting machines paved the way for rigging, adding that local political players could resort to rigging in elections ranging from fake votes to tempering with results. Our well-thought-out view is that the military should be assisted in holding free and fair elections.

The chief organizer of PTI said that in order to maintain law and order, army personnel should be deployed inside and outside the polling stations. In the current situation, keeping elections free from rigging and violence is even more necessary and important. TF Report