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PESHAWAR: Swabi’s district monitoring officer (DMO) of the Provincial Election Commission has issued a notice to National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser for “violating” code of conduct by allegedly promoting PTI ahead of local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to a notice issued on December 10, an audio clip has been circulating in the media wherein Qaiser can allegedly be heard promoting his party ahead of the local bodies election, “saying that project tenders are in process and soon these tenders will be notified”.
“It has come to the knowledge of the undersigned through reliable sources and electronic media that there is an audio of yours wherein you [are] appealing [to] the voters in the form of development projects,” the notice read.
The DMO directed Qaiser to appear in person or through his counsel at his office on December 13 to explain his position regarding the violation of the election code of conduct and directions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In case of non-compliance with the DMO’s directives, the matter will be referred to the ECP “for the initiation of necessary proceedings against you (Qaiser)” under the Election Act 2017, the notice says.
Meanwhile, the DMO sent the audio clip and a letter to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) chairperson, asking him to carry out a forensic analysis of the clip to ascertain its authenticity and track its origin.
The monitoring officer further requested the PEMRA chairperson to address the matter on an urgent basis and provide the required information by December 15.
According to the election code of conduct, after the issuance of the election schedule, the president, prime minister, governor, speaker, deputy speaker of any assembly, chairman and deputy chairman of senate, federal and provincial ministers, advisers to the prime minister, chief ministers or any other holder of public office shall not visit the area of any local council to announce any development scheme or to canvass or campaign for any candidate or any political party.
Moreover, the Peshawar DMO issued a notice to MNA Shaukat Ali of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for violating the election code and summoned him on December 12. The DMO issued another notice to a lawmaker of the Awani National Party over violation of the election code of conduct, summoning her on December 13.
