All set for the grandest event of them all

Women polling staff members complain about standing in queues alongside men

QUETTA: Preparations for the general election 2018 to be held on Wednesday (today) in Balochistan are complete as election material, comprising ballot papers and boxes, has been delivered under the supervision of the Pakistan Army at all polling stations across the province.

Up to 4.3 million voters will cast their votes for 16 National Assembly and 51 Balochistan Assembly seats on July 25.

However, the women polling staff members complained about the arrangements.

The polling staff had been called in on Tuesday at the Government Girls Degree College and Balochistan University Law College to collect the election material, but due to mismanagement on behalf of the Election Commission of Pakistan and district administration officials they had to wait the whole day under the scorching heat of the sun.

“We had been called at 8am by the ECP, but there were no arrangements for us as we were deprived of even drinking water and forced to wait for hours in queues in the sweltering heat,” said Shaheena, a female school teacher.

Many women teachers of various schools were forced to stand with men of the election staff in queues as there was no separate arrangement adopted by the ECP and the district administration.

Zaibun Nisa slammed the ECP for making her wait in the queue with men, saying, “Unfortunately, all women here are compelled to collect the election material along with men. There should have been a separate portion for women where they could collect the material. It looks like a fish market here.”

A total of 4,420 polling stations have been established in the province of which 1,786 have been declared highly sensitive, while 1,768 sensitive where strict security measures have been adopted.

On security arrangements for the election day, caretaker Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs Agha Umar Bangulzai said, “Sixty-three thousand security personnel have been assigned the duty to maintain law and order during elections in Balochistan. Twenty-two thousand Pakistan Army soldiers and over 21,000 FC personnel will be deployed across the province.”

The home minister said, “We have set up different Quick Response Forces (QRFs), comprising police and levies personnel, who will be on standby.”

Bangulzai said, “Printing of ballot papers and process of transportation of election material has been completed under strict supervision of the Pakistan Army.”

On security threats, Bangulzai said, “Threat assessment committees have been formed in all districts of Balochistan, while CCTV cameras have also been installed at highly sensitive polling stations on ECP’s directives.”

Citing the Mastung suicide attack in which 154 innocent people lost their lives, he said, “After the tragic incident, we have revised the provincial security parameters and fined many candidates found uncooperative with the district administration.”

The caretaker provincial government has established Election Monitoring Cells (EMCs) in all six divisions of the province, while the Quetta’s EMC will monitor the security arrangements from the Capital City Police Officer’s office.