The stage is all set for general elections in Karachi today

The arrangements for polling for 22 National Assembly and 47 provincial assembly seats in Karachi have been finalised as general elections are being held across Pakistan on Thursday (today).

According to the data of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 5,336 polling stations have been established in seven districts of the city. From the point of view of security, 3,038 of them are highly sensitive, 2,170 sensitive and 128 normal.

Registered voters numbering 9,286,241 (5,102,821 male and 4,183,420 female) will exercise their right to vote in the city. A total of 575 candidates are in the run for the 22 NA seats, and 1,406 for the 47 PA seats. Voting will be held from 8am to 5pm without any break.

The ECP established nine dispatch centres in the city for the provision of the electoral materials. Police provided security for their transportation to the polling stations.

The Expo Centre was designated as the hub for their dispatch to the polling stations in District East, the Government College of Technology, SITE, in District Keamari, and the deputy commissioners’ offices in the Malir and West districts.

The Government Comprehensive School, North Nazimabad, was designated as the hub in District Central, the Government Superior Science College, Shah Faisal Colony, and the Government Girls College, Korangi 2½, in District Korangi, and the Government Commerce & Economics College and the Church Mission School, Nishtar Road, in District South.

The polling officials faced serious hardships and considerable delays in getting the voting materials from these district hubs. They waited for hours before they were handed over to them.

District Malir has three NA and six PA seats, with 824,873 registered voters (467,222 male and 357,651 female). District Korangi has three NA and six PA seats, with 1,512,026 registered voters (828,134 male and 683,892 female).

District East has four NA and nine PA seats, with 1,687,810 registered voters (897,551 male and 790,259 female). District South has three NA and five PA seats, with 1,270,564 registered voters (687,696 male and 582,868 female). District Keamari has two NA and five PA seats, with 891,214 registered voters (518,086 male and 373,128 female).

District West has three NA and six PA seats, with 954,828 registered voters (550,940 male and 403,888 female). District Central has four NA and nine PA seats, with 2,144,926 registered voters (1,153,192 male and 991,734 female).

Tessori’s appeal

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori on Wednesday made separate phone calls to the provincial chief secretary, the Sindh Rangers chief, the provincial police chief and the city commissioner to talk to them on security, administrative and other arrangements for the elections.

The police chief and the CS briefed him about administrative arrangements and those related to law and order. The Rangers DG briefed him on the election security plan for the entire province.

Tessori asked all of them to ensure that the polls are held peacefully from Karachi to Kashmore. He also asked them to ensure strict compliance with the ECP’s code of conduct issued for the general elections.

He appealed to all the political and religious parties contesting the polls to observe patience, humility and tolerance on Election Day. He said the police and the administration are under an obligation to treat all the contesting parties equally in accordance with the law and the constitution.

‘Zero tolerance’

Caretaker home minister Brigadier (retd) Haris Nawaz visited various highly sensitive polling stations in different areas of the city to review the security arrangements made for the elections.

He visited the polling stations established at the DG Government Science College near Burnes Road and the Ghulaman-e-Abbas School on Mauripur Road. He also visited the centre established at the CMS Boys School on Napier Road for dispatching voting materials.

He said on the occasion that the interim government has been doing its best to ensure that the general elections are held in accordance with the code of ethics and the standard operating procedures defined for the purpose by the ECP.

He appealed to the people to cooperate with the police and other law enforcement agencies to maintain peace, and to immediately alert the authorities about any suspicious activities in their surroundings during polling.

He warned that zero tolerance would be observed in cases of aerial firing and displaying weapons during the elections. He said the law would promptly take its course against miscreants resorting to lawlessness on Election Day.