Karachi: The Election Commission of Pakistan issued a notice to Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab for violating the code of conduct and sought an explanation.
In the letter issued to the Joint Election Commissioner Sindh Murtaza Wahab, it is said that your press conference clearly gives the impression that you as the Mayor of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are supporting a particular political party, your actions are of the political party. Affect the results of elections in favor.
It has been said in the post that with such a statement, Mayor Karachi has been guilty of violating Clause No. 18 and 41 of the Code of Conduct.
The Election Commission further wrote that according to the code of conduct, the mayor, chairman and moderator cannot support any political party, so Murtaza Wahab should submit his written response, otherwise action will be taken as per the law.
The post states that the Election Commission of Pakistan has a constitutional responsibility to make arrangements for holding transparent elections only as per Article 218 (93) of the Constitution so that the election can be held honestly and fairly.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has issued a code of conduct for political parties, election candidates, election agents and polling agents on 20 December 2023 under section 33 of the Election Act, 2017 to conduct consultative meetings with major political parties and thereafter.
According to the Code of Conduct, the President, Prime Minister, Chairman, Deputy Chairman Senate, Speaker of an Assembly, Deputy Speaker, Federal Ministers, Ministers of State, Governors, Chief Ministers, Provincial Ministers, Prime Minister, Adviser to the Chief Minister, Mayor, Chairman, Moderator and their Will not participate in the election campaign.
This provision also applies to the caretaker set-up, however, members of the Senate and local government are allowed to participate in election campaigns. They will strictly adhere to the code of conduct, guidelines and regulations issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan and will face legal consequences for their violation.
Apart from this, political parties, candidates, their supporters, elected representatives of local government shall not announce or inaugurate their development schemes or development works, openly or secretly or do anything that may affect the results of elections.
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