Arrangements made for three NA by-polls in Karachi, says ECP

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed all the arrangements for the upcoming by-elections in three National Assembly constituencies in Karachi — NA-237, NA-239 and NA-46 — scheduled for September 25.

Ejaz Anwar Chauhan, the provincial election commissioner Sindh, said this on Wednesday as he addressed a press conference at the provincial election commission. “There is a need of around 10,000 security staff to conduct the by-elections,” he said, adding that he had personally been looking after the all the arrangements and was in contact with the district administration to conduct the polling process peacefully.

Sharing details of the security issues, he said that as many as 75 per cent of the polling stations in the three constituencies were highly sensitive. He explained that all the polling stations of NA-246, which covers Lyari and some areas of Garden, were highly sensitive.

He announced that as many as 10 policemen would be deployed at each polling station while the Rangers and Pakistan Army personnel would also perform duties. People should come out of their houses and freely exercise their right to vote, Chauhan. “The Election Commission is not concerned about who is winning or losing. The voters should use their right to vote for their favourite candidate on the polling day,” he remarked.

He said it was the key responsibly of the ECP to conduct free and transparent elections. The commission would not allow anyone to enter the constituencies with violent groups and sabotage the election process. “We have instructed the presiding officers to ensure provision of the forms 45 and 46 to the nominated representatives of the contesting parties at the polling stations.”

The provincial election commissioner said CCTV cameras would be installed at all the polling stations to ensure fair and free elections. He explained that some of the polling stations had been set up at private schools that had basic facilities, and the commission had asked the district administrations to provide basic facilities at the government schools that had been made polling stations.

The K-Electric had also been directed not to carry out load-shedding in the three constituencies on the polling day, he said. “The monitoring mechanism would be a strenuous task for the Election Commission. However, the commission will not tolerate the violation of code of conduct in the by-polls,” he said as he asserted that MNA and MPAs would not be allowed to enter the constituencies during the polling. “Those who create mess during the polling process will be detained,” he warned.

To a question regarding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan’s candidature in all the three constituencies, Chauhan replied that there was no restriction on taking part in by-polls from more than one constituency.

He said the ECP had assigned 194 presiding officers, 748 assistants presiding officers and 748 polling officers for the by-poll in NA-237, which covers the sub-divisions of Murad Memon, Ibrahim Hyderi and areas around the airport.

As many as 294,699 voters, including 128,786 female and 165,913 male voters, will have the right to vote in the NA-237 by-election. The number of polling stations in the constituency is 194, of which 190 polling stations have counters for both men and women, whereas, two each polling station have been separately set up for male and female voters. A total of 15 candidates are in the run for the by-poll.

The NA-239 constituency covers the sub-divisions of Model Colony, Faisal Cantonment and Shah Faisal Colony. As many as 330 presiding officers, 1,320 assistant presiding officers and 1,320 polling officers have been tasked with performing duties in the constituency.

The number of polling stations in NA-239 is 330, of which 130 have been declared sensitive and 210 highly sensitive. A total of 581,888 voters, including 271,184 female and 310,704 male voters, can cast their votes in the by-poll, for which a total of 22 candidates are in the fray.

The NA-246 constituency covers the sub-divisions Lyari and Garden. The ECP has appointed 299 presiding officers, 1,196 assistant presiding officers and 1,196 polling officers for the by-election in NA-246.

The number of voters in the constituency is 613,697, including 270,643 female and 343,054 male voters. A total of 299 polling stations have been established for the by-poll and the number of candidates is 11. Meanwhile, the provincial election commission has assigned Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Ali Asghar Sial as the spokesperson for the commission for the Sindh chapter.