The Roshan Gharana Program, which sought to give free power to low-income households, was stopped by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday until July 17, when by-elections will be held for 20 seats in the Punjab Assembly.
As part of the “Punjab Chief Minister Roshan Gharana Program,” Hamza had announced on Monday that households using up to 100 units would receive free power starting in July.
According to the provincial administration, the relief programme is meant to help an estimated nine million poor families, or approximately half of the province’s population.
The announcement came after the ECP ordered that no new construction projects may be started until the by-polls were completed.
The Election Commission then sent a notice to the Governor asking for an answer to alleged violations of the Election Code of Conduct.
Today, a group of three ECPs, led by Election Commission Chairman (CEC) Cikanda Sultan Raja, investigated the issue.
Hamza’s lawyer, Khalid Ishak, responded to the Commission today, stating that the program does not cover the constituencies where by-elections will take place.
The program is part of the state budget announced last month, he said. However, ECP Sind member Nisar Durrani said such announcements by the prime minister during the campaign would be seen as an attempt to influence the outcome of the election.
Ishaq replied that the government would not have raised gas prices if it wanted to influence the outcome of the election. Members of
ECP Sindh pointed out that the state government does not have the authority to raise gasoline prices.
Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Raja questioned the need for a new announcement when the program was already included in the state budget.
“This program was announced because of rising inflation for people who use 50 to 100 units of electricity,” Hamza’s lawyer claimed.
ECP Justice Secretary Mohammad Arshad stated that it is the Commission’s duty to ensure a fair competition for all parties. “The announcement of the Punjab State Government Program is an attempt to influence the by-elections.”
He called for the program to be abolished because it took less than 10 days to reach the by-elections. However,
Ishaq claimed that consumers would benefit from this program in August.
CEC Raja upheld DG Legal’s reasoning and stated that it was the Election Commission’s duty to create a fair competition for all parties.
The ECP then suspended the program until July 17th.
The Election Commissioner said the violation of the Code of Conduct was done in accordance with the law. He instructed that the development program should not be announced until the
by-elections.
“The Election Commission rejects controversial publicity about by-elections. The Election Commission is more supported by law enforcement agencies than ever before.”
20 constituencies in Punjab. He vowed that by-elections in Japan would be held in a transparent manner.
