ISLAMABAD: The Election Com­mission of Pakistan (ECP) has rej­e­c­ted the Punjab government’s request and decided to hold the by-election in Rajanpur on Sunday (today).

The by-election will take place on the seat, NA-193 (Rajanpur), which had fallen vacant following the death of PTI’s Sardar Jaffar Khan Leghari in December 2022.

Two days before the polling, the interim government of Punjab on Friday requested the commission to postpone the by-election.

The government said that the Dera Ghazi Khan division commissioner has raised security concerns in a letter to the home department.

The commissioner also wrote to the ECP requesting postponement over security concerns.

The ECP, in a statement, said the Punjab government’s requested couldn’t be entertained as all arrangements for the by-election were already in place.

It added that the deputy commissioner, Punjab Police, Army and Rangers would be present in the monitoring room and respond to any untoward situation.

The ECP said that central and provincial monitoring rooms would work round the clock to monitor the electoral process.

It said that under Article 220 of the Constitution, every institution was obliged to support the ECP in holding free and fair elections.

The election commission warned that non-cooperation on part of any institution or official would result in action according to the law.

A tough contest is expected between Mohsin Leghari and Ammar Leghari, who are contesting on the tickets of PTI and PML-N, respectively.

Earlier, the PTI had nominated its chairman Imran Khan as a candidate. However, earlier this month, Mr Khan withdrew his candidature in an apparent bid to avert possible disqualification in the Tyrian White case.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2023