Talking to APP, the Prime Minister said initial reports coming from across the country he was satisfied that the process went along smoothly in a fair, free and transparent manner.
The Prime Minister said, barring minor incidents the process was held in line with the code of conduct laid out by the election commission. "It has always been our endeavour and desire to ensure the conduct of polls as per the code of conduct," he said.
The Prime Minister said there may have been problems in some areas but it was part of the election process. He appreciated the efforts of the law-enforcing agencies to ensure peaceful atmosphere, allowing the people to use their right of vote without any fear.
"I would like to congratulate the Election Commission and the law-enforcing agencies for holding peaceful polls, as they did during the first phase," he added. Prime Minister Aziz said winning or losing was part of the game and stressed the need of promoting a culture where results were accepted in good faith. "Those who lose should accept the verdict of the people as conceding defeat is part of democracy," he added.
Shaukat Aziz said, with the completion of the second phase, President General Pervez Musharraf has fulfilled the promise he had made to the people.
He said in the third phase, Nazims and Naib-Nazims would be elected, thereby setting a pace for the system to speedily resolve problems of the common people at the local level.
He dispelled the impression created by some reports that complaints were not duly entertained at the election commission.
"During the first phase, I had talked to the Chief Election Commissioner and he told me that all complaints were looked into and action was taken wherever required, after necessary investigation," he added. In this regard, he referred to the complaints where women were barred from voting in some areas.
The Prime Minster said the Election Commission had already declared the polls in such areas as null and void and announced re-polling. "Legal mechanism is there for any candidate who has grievances or complaints," he added.
The Prime Minister noted that media was totally free and nothing could remain hidden from its watchful eyes as the media was the eyes and ears of the society. Moreover, the Prime Minister said, he had reports that foreign observers who were invited by the government, visited all places to see for themselves that the polls were held in a fair, free and transparent manner.
Speaking to various TV channels, the Prime Minister said he was satisfied with the steps taken to hold fair, free and transparent elections.
The Prime Minister said it was a matter of satisfaction that there was no report any serious incident anywhere in the country and the few minor incidents that occurred took place away from the polling booths.
He said clashes in some places between the rival groups was unfortunate as sometime supporters of contesting candidates get carried away by emotions.