- Punjab cabinet under the leadership of CM Naqvi held a meeting with ECP.
- Naqvi said, will cooperate to conduct peaceful elections.
- Elections will be held as per schedule: CEC.
LAHORE: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja has expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by the caretaker Punjab government to conduct general elections in the province.
The CEC statement came during a meeting with the interim Punjab Cabinet today to discuss matters related to the elections to be held in the last week of January next year.
Detailed information was given by the Commission regarding the preparations for the general elections in the state.
Provincial Election Commission members Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, Ikramullah Khan and Babar Hasan Bharwana also attended the meeting.
During the session, the CEC assured that the elections will be held as per schedule and the electoral body will extend full support to the interim government in conducting free and fair elections in the province.
CEC Raja said the delimitation of constituencies will be completed by November 30 and said the ECP is ready to conduct transparent, free and fair general elections.
“The Election Commission is completely satisfied with the steps taken so far by the Punjab government,” Raja was quoted as saying.
During the meeting, CM Naqvi said that the caretaker government will cooperate with the electoral body to conduct peaceful and transparent elections.
CM Naqvi said, “Foolproof arrangements will be made to conduct free elections in Punjab.” He said the interim government will follow the ECP.
“Conducting fair, free and peaceful general elections is a national responsibility and good practices will be followed,” the interim CM said.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Punjab Information Minister Amir Mir said that the caretaker government and the ECP have agreed to hold the elections as per their schedule.
He said the CEC appreciated the steps taken by the caretaker government to conduct the elections and said the Punjab Chief Minister had assured the Election Commission that all steps would be taken to ensure free and fair elections.
Mir said the ECP did not share the election date in a hurry and also ruled out the possibility of using electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the upcoming elections.
