The Election Commission of Pakistan held a meeting with the stakeholders to deliberate upon drafting a new code of conduct for the local bodies’ polls and the general elections, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Tuesday. 

The representatives of political parties joined the consultations at the ECP office. Farhatullah Babar of PPP, Ahsan Iqbal PML-N, Farrukh Habib of PTI, Zahid Hamid and Taj Haider were among the participants.

Government reps recommended drafting under the recently amended act and lifting the ban on the activities in accordance with the constitution while a few politicians proposed restrictions to ensure transparency.

Last month, the federal government promulgated Elections Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022 to change the ECP code of conduct. The ECP decided to consult political parties on the matter.

During the discussion, most of the political figures suggested that the public office holders including the president, prime minister, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker, deputy speaker, federal ministers should not be banned from visiting constituencies. A few politicians recommended restrictions to avert manipulation of the election.

The commission will seal the fate soon, the ECP stated. The chief election commissioner assured the politicians of addressing their concerns at the delay in local bodies' polls.