The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has slapped Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati with a fine of Rs50,000 for running the election campaign for a candidate of the Mansehra city council in the second phase of local government polls, a news outlet reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the ECP has directed the minister to submit the receipt of the notice by March 17 for violating the commission’s code of conduct.
The fine was imposed by District Election Commissioner Hayatullah Jan Marwat.
In case of repeated violation, the case will be forwarded to the ECP for further action.
Last week, the ECP had issued a notice to Swati and directed him to explain his position.
According to the notice, “the minister threatened voters with fund denial if they did not vote for Kamal Saleem, a candidate for the Mansehra city council.”
The notice also mentioned that “no public office holder or elected member shall use state resources to campaign for any candidate.”
