Provincial government imposes Section 144

LAHORE: In order to enforce the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) code of conduct, the provincial government has imposed Section 144 across Punjab, said Punjab Local Government Department Secretary Arif Anwar Baloch.

Addressing a meeting at his office on Thursday, he said the government has resolved over 800 polling stations related complaints sent by the commission.



Baloch said that the ongoing training sessions of the polling staff will be completed by July 15.

"The commission has indicated the absence of basic facilities at various polling stations. As many as 188 polling stations have no boundary wall. However, the provincial government has already upgraded 823 polling stations. The government has also made arrangements for installation of tents a day before election wherever there is no boundary wall," he maintained.

He said that to conduct peaceful elections in the province, the ECP and the provincial government were on the same page. Election duties have been assigned to a government official and no government officials are allowed to skip his or her election duty, he underlined.



Baloch pointed out that 47,473 polling stations have been set up across Punjab for 141 National Assembly seats and 297 provincial assembly seats. For upcoming general elections, 12,962 polling stations have been established for male voters while 12,246 polling stations have been set up for female voters.

He further highlighted that the government has also made arrangements for the provision of power generators in case power fails at any polling station.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2018.