ISLAMABAD  –  The Election Commission of Pakistan [ECP] yesterday rejected the controversial decree about banning women participation in election campaigns and even casting vote in Hazara region (Kohistan).

It also warned that the whole election process in those constituencies where women are barred from taking part in the electioneering could be nullified.

It is to be mentioned here that a group of Islamic clerics in KP’s Kohistan region has issued an edict, banning women from participating in election canvassing.

The ECP has taken notice of this news. It explained that the district monitoring officer of Kohistan in his report has conveyed to the top election body that there was no such report in this regard and action will be taken according to the code and conduct framed with the collaboration of political parties. A spokesperson for the ECP stated that the Election Commission may invoke Section 9 of the Elections Act, potentially leading to the nullification of the entire election process if women are impeded from casting votes. The ECP took immediate action on the reports circulating in certain media outlets on Monday, claiming that a group of scholars in the Kohistan region has purportedly issued a fatwa prohibiting women from participating in election campaigns. According to sources in the electoral watchdog, over fifty percent of polling stations have been categorised as sensitive. Over 40,000 from all provinces have been declared ‘sensitive’ due to various reasons. In another development, the ECP expressed satisfaction over the printing of voter list/ electoral rolls in the printing press. After the allotment of election symbols by Returning Officers (ROs), the process of printing electoral rolls had started. The printing of electoral rolls will be completed on February 02 [Friday]. The delivery of electoral rolls in the concerned polling station would start this week.

Source: The Nation