Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Thursday vowed that the country will not witness the internet outage during the forthcoming elections, slated to happen on February 8.
Speaking to media in Islamabad, Raja said, "It has been assured that security will be provided during the elections." The ECP CEC reiterated that the general elections will be held on February 8 at any cost.
"We have full confidence in law enforcement agencies (LEAs). We have no enmity towards anybody and are serving the country."
Raja said, ''All the political parties are equal for us. It was after the Supreme Court's (SC) decision that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyers held a meeting with us [ECP]."
"The PTI's nomination papers had been submitted more than any other parties. We will see the matter pertaining to the PTI intraparty elections when we receive any information," Raja said.
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— Election Commission of Pakistan (OFFICIAL)🇵🇰 (@ECP_Pakistan) February 1, 2024
The chief electoral watchdog stated: "Those who are facing any threats are being provided with security by us."
Expressing his thoughts about the frosty weather in the country, Raja said: "We have concerns over the areas that are witnessing the snowfall."
He made it clear that the PTI had filed no application with the electoral watchdog.
Raja said, "The assassination of the candidates seems to be a matter of enmity. The investigation is underway regarding the assassination of the candidates."
– ECP meeting –
On Wednesday, Raja presided over the meeting of the electoral watchdog in Islamabad. On this occasion, the ECP said: “No proposals are being reviewed about delaying the polls in KP and Balochistan.”
During the meeting, matters in line with the publication of the ballot papers were discussed.
The ECP stated: “After today, papers from the constituencies with printing regulations cannot be printed. The special features paper has been discontinued, and printing corporations are also facing a shortage of resources.”