In advance of the NA-132 by-Election in the Kasur district, a public gathering was held in Chunian, and 16 leaders of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) as well as 600 unidentified workers have been charged in a first information report (FIR).
According to the FIR, the district government did not provide the SIC with a no objection certificate (NOC) for the event, where an attempt was made to “incite people through anti-state narrative”.
It said that the political figures had broken both Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the code of conduct established by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
They flashed guns during the public event, according to the FIR filed at the Khaddian police station under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.
600 other unnamed political activists as well as Sher Afzal Marwat and Sardar Muhammad Hussain Dogar, two of the SIC 16 leaders, are named in the lawsuit.
The election campaign for the April 21 by-elections came to an end at midnight yesterday night.
With a margin of more than 25,000 votes, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif became victorious in the general election held on February 8 on the NA-132 seat, while Dogar finished in second place. Shehbaz chose to hold onto his NA-123 Lahore-VII seat, hence the seat became vacant.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reminded candidates yesterday, April 21, under Section 182 of the Election Act, 2017, of the deadline for electioneering. The deadline is Friday midnight, ahead of Sunday’s by-elections in 21 national and provincial Assembly constituencies in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Balochistan.
Election laws stipulated that campaigning had to end precisely at midnight on Friday and Saturday (April 19–20).
The highest electoral body warns candidates that participate in politics after the cutoff point risk legal repercussions.
For 48 hours following the polls closing, until midnight, the aforementioned Election Act rule forbids anybody from planning, attending, or taking part in any public assemblies or processions inside the boundaries of the constituency.
The commission issued a warning, stating that anyone who disobeyed the rules might be fined up to Rs100,000, imprisoned for up to two years, or both.
The poll monitor also exhorts the public and media to work together to guarantee a free, fair, and transparent electoral process.
The poll organizing body released a notification earlier this month on the holding of by-elections in 23 seats, including 6 NA, 12 Punjab Assembly, 2 KP Assembly, 2 Balochistan Assembly, and 1 Sindh Assembly constituency.
In the next by-elections, 239 people will run, including 50 candidates for NA seats. In the NA-207 constituency, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari was elected without facing any opposition.
Without a challenge, Zubair Ahmed Junejo, a different PPP politician, was likewise elected to the PS-80 Dadu seat.
Later, KP Assembly by-elections included 23 candidates, Punjab Assembly by-elections featured 154 candidates, and Balochistan Assembly by-elections had 12 candidates.
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