'Media gag' imposed on EC M Ali
Staff Correspondent
A virtual restriction was imposed on Election Commissioner Mohammad Ali yesterday asking him not to speak with journalists about the ongoing affairs of the Election Commission (EC), following his disclosure on Tuesday of the schedule of polling for women reserved seats.Mohammad Ali on Tuesday morning disclosed the proposed schedule for the election to women reserved seats in parliament before it was approved by the EC. The incident compelled the chief election commissioner (CEC) to convene an emergency meeting and rearrange the schedule. CEC MA Aziz described Mohammad Ali's disclosure as surprising. Officials at Election Commissioner Mohammad Ali's office yesterday said there is a restriction from the higher authorities on the election commissioner against talking to journalists. "We conveyed the instruction to [Mohammad Ali] and he directed us not to allow any journalist to him," an official told this correspondent. Officials at the office of the CEC, however, brushed aside the issue of imposing such a restriction. Sources at the EC secretariat said they sent a file to Election Commissioner Mohammad Ali with a proposed schedule for election to women reserved seats on September 4. The election commissioner approved the proposal and disclosed it to a private TV channel. The file was then sent to Election Commissioner M Munsef Ali for his consideration. He approved the schedule and sent the file to the CEC. The EC later rearranged the schedule for polling on September 6 as Mohammad Ali disclosed the previous schedule.
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