The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday took notice of the use of state machinery and manpower by the officials of the local governments, a spokesperson said.

“It has been noticed by the ECP that elected officials of the local governments helping candidates in their election campaign by providing government machinery and manpower which is against the code of conduct and fairness of the elections,” the ECP spokesperson added.

The 12th general elections in Pakistan, after a four-month delay, are scheduled to be held on February 8.

According to the spokesperson, the ECP has directed the provincial chief secretaries and election commissioners to convey the warning to the suspected government officials.

The ECP has also directed the district monitoring teams to strictly monitor the election campaigns and take action over violations of the code of conduct.

A day earlier, the ECP removed the returning officer of NA-44 of Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over alleged misuse of power.

“It was noticed that the returning officer of NA-44, DI Khan allegedly abused his authority and altered the election symbol of a candidate within his constituency without any reason,” the spokesperson added.