ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: As many as 20,498 polling stations across the Country are sensitive while 4,834 polling stations don’t even have boundary walls, the officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said.
While giving a briefing in a meeting of the ECP held in Islamabad on Tuesday with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza in the Chair to review arrangements for the forthcoming general elections, the officials said that 5,568 sensitive polling stations are in Punjab while 5,776 are in Sindh.
They said that likewise, 7,386 polling stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1,768 in Balochistan have been declared sensitive.
The ECP officials said that 4,834 polling stations established across the Country are without boundary walls. They said that 6,942 polling stations are without electricity, 7,371 don’t have the facility of water supply, 4,322 have no central door while no bathroom exists in 4,011 polling stations.
Furthermore, the officials apprised that for next general elections, 86,436 polling stations will be established across the Country. They said that 48,667 polling stations in Punjab, 18,647 in Sindh, 14,655 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA, and 4,476 in Balochistan will be set up.
The ECP officials said that District Returning Officers (DROs) will be imparted training on May 15 and 16.
They said that it’s imperative to ensure security of Returning Officers (ROs) and DROs. They said that the election staff should be provided full protection.
The ECP meeting was attended by provincial Chief Secretaries, Chief Commissioner Islamabad and Additional Secretary FATA.