Final preparations: Dispensaries converted into polling stations for LG elections

KARACHI:

While many schools, colleges and universities have been transformed into polling stations for the local government elections in Karachi, the Election Commission of Pakistan has also converted more than 25 dispensaries across the city into polling stations to cater to the voters in different councils.

With election day on Saturday, the dispensaries, including Afza Altaf Dispensary Labour Square, Ali Garh Dispensary, Baloch Goth dispensary, Marvi Goth and many others, will not provide treatment to the locals but will provide ballot papers to the voters. The Karachi Municipal Corporation dispensary Ghazi Nagar and the Hijrat Colony dispensary are also on the list of the health centres, which have been changed into polling stations.



The provincial spokesperson of the Election Commission of Pakistan was unaware of the change of dispensaries to serve as polling stations but said that, according to Article 220 of the Constitution, every facility is bound to serve the election commission and can be changed into a polling station.

Article 220 reads that it shall be the duty of all executive authorities in the federation and in the provinces to assist the commissioner and the election commission in the discharge of his or their functions. The spokesperson added that polling stations have been made by the district returning officer of each district and if they have transformed a dispensary into a polling station then they must have done it according to the law and taken measures for the patients to be catered to at other dispensaries.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th,  2015.