Local council elections: ‘International observers say elections were fair’

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission (EC) Secretary Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad said on Monday that international observers and the local and international media had declared the recently held local council elections free and fair, and had appreciated the effort by the EC in this regard. Moreover, arrangements had been finalised for the newly elected local council representatives to take oath, he said.

The secretary said that international observers, local media as well as international media representatives had been all praise for the EC’s election arrangements and the transparency of the recently concluded polls. He claimed the turnout in the two phases of the local council elections had been 48 percent.

Speaking in a programme on Pakistan Television (PTV), he said the EC had issued directives to the newly elected nazims, naib nazims and members of every union council (UC) to approach the assistant election commissioners (AEC) of their districts for issuance of identity cards. The secretary asked the newly elected members to approach the AEC office with fresh photographs for their cards. He added that the EC had also directed district and sessions judges of phase-I districts to designate judicial officers for appointment as presiding officers by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for administering the oath of nazims, naib nazims and UC members. app

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