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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has dismissed allegations made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding the lack of a level playing field for the forthcoming general elections in 2024, as reported by ARY News.
In December, the country's highest court instructed the ECP to address all complaints raised by the PTI concerning the fairness of the electoral environment leading up to the upcoming general elections. The plea moved on behalf of Barrister Gohar Ali Khan through Shaheen, sought a direction from the Supreme Court to ensure a level playing field by not arresting PTI candidates, workers, and leaders. According to sources, over 76 per cent of the nomination papers of PTI candidates have been approved by the ECP. It further said that the commission submitted a detailed report regarding the level playing field to the Supreme Court registrar. Earlier, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Inspector General Police (IGP) of Punjab, Usman Anwar, chief secretary, and AG Punjab on the PTI petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against the ECP for failing to address the party concerns regarding level-playing fields ahead of the upcoming polls, ARY News reported. Following the Supreme Court's orders, the ECP took notice of the PTI reservations regarding the lack of a level playing field in the run-up to the upcoming general elections, scheduled for February 8. The electoral watchdog has sent a letter to provincial election commissioners, chief secretaries, and inspector-generals (IGs), ordering them to remove PTI's complaints about mishandling of its candidates and facing difficulties in filing nomination papers. Moreover, ahead of the hearing, the PTI submitted additional documents containing evidence of the alleged denial of the level-playing field before the apex court, as reported by ARY News. The apex court was informed that the nomination papers of as many as 668 PTI candidates were rejected by returning officers, who were appointed by the ECP. Earlier, the PTI petitioner urged the apex court to direct the respondents to provide a level playing field to the party for free and fair elections, in the interest of justice, ARY News reported. (ANI)
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