Staff Reporter Islamabad
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday decided to initiate departmental proceedings or criminal proceedings against officials involved in the Daska by-election debacle.
The decision comes after the ECP had released an inquiry report last week, revealing that the NA-75 Sialkot-IV by-election held in Daska on February 19 was not held in a fair, free, and transparent manner.
The ECP has decided to take action against the officers during a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja with the body’s members in attendance, a statement from the body said.
The ECP has constituted a committee comprising special secretary, director-general law, and other officials, who will assist the election commission in the inquiry against all the officials involved in the debacle, the statement said.
The statement revealed that the returning officer (RO) and district returning officer (DRO), who — according to the report — had failed to do their jobs, were ordered to report to the ECP.
Both the officials are now officers on special duty (OSD), while the elec tion commission mulls further action against them in line with the report’s findings, the statement said
According to the ECP’s investigation report, RO and DRO remained confined to their offices and failed to discharge their responsibilities properly. Both RO and DRO also refrained from taking decisions under sensitive situations.
