The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday suspended the notification of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and declared that a polling agent could be appointed from any of the constituencies.

The ECP had announced that the polling agents for the July 17 by-elections shall be the voters of the respective constituencies. It said no candidate shall appoint any polling agent from outside the constituency.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-Punjab president Dr Yasmin Rashid challenged the notification of the ECP through a writ petition.

The petitioner’s counsel argued before the court that the ECP unlawfully announced the condition for the polling agents.

Asked about the past practice, the counsel said there was no restriction on the polling agents in the past.

Justice Shahid Jamil Khan observed that the polling agents had curtained responsibilities to discharge on the day of election. He said the polling agents from the same constituency had the advantage of identifying voters.

However, the petitioner’s counsel argued that it was not necessary under the law to appoint polling agents from the same constituency.

A counsel for the ECP argued that the decision was taken to avoid any violence on the day of election. He said there would be a likelihood of violence if voters from outside the constituencies were allowed to join the election activity as polling agents.

The judge, however, rejected the notion and observed that the voters of other constituencies were not “aliens”.

He directed the ECP to ensure the by-polls were held in a fair and transparent manner.

The judge observed that the impugned notification was suspended temporarily and the ECP was free to make new rules for the appointment of the polling agents after the July 17 by-poll.