ECP issues code of conduct for Senate elections

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan ( ECP) has issued the code of conduct for political parties, contesting candidates, election agents and voters for Senate elections 2021.

According to notification, the commission said that as per code of conduct the political parties, candidates, voters and election agents will not propagate any opinion, or act in any manner prejudicial to the glory of Islam and ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or morality or public order, or the integrity or independence of the parliament, judiciary of Pakistan or which defames or brings into ridicule the parliament, judiciary or the Armed Forces of Pakistan.

All parties will abide by directions and instructions issued by the ECP from time to time relating to smooth conduct of elections.

Meanwhile, it was reported that there will be no polling for the 11 Senate seats from Punjab as all the candidates for three categories — seven general and two seats each reserved for women and technocrats — stand elected unopposed after disqualification or withdrawal of papers by other contestants.

Five seats each have gone to the ruling Pakistan Tehrik- e- Insaf ( PTI) and opposition Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz ( PML- N), while one has been grabbed by the PML-Q, an ally of the PTI.

A close aide to Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi gave credit to the latter for playing a key role in convincing all the parties — PTI, PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party ( PPP) — for withdrawing candidatures of their respective hopefuls over and above their numerical strength needed to win the Senate seats. A final decision in this respect was taken at the business advisory committee of the provincial assembly when it met for the previous session, he claimed.

Those elected unopposed on seven general seats are Saifullah Niazi, Aon Abbas and Ejaz Chaudhry of the PTI, Afnanullah Khan, Prof Sajid Mir and Irfan- ul- Siddiqui of the PML-N and Kamil Ali Agha of the PML-Q.

Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur of the PTI and Saadia Abbasi of the PML- N have been elected unopposed for the two seats reserved for women, and Syed Ali Zafar of the PTI and Azam Nazeer Tarar of the PML-N for the two seats reserved for technocrats.

A spokesperson for the ECP said that a notification for the senators elected unopposed would be issued after the March 3 polls for Senate seats in other three provinces and the federal capital.