N Waziristan poll contestants want curfew lifted

In joint communiqué, they demand separate polling stations for men and women as per tribal norms

MIRAN SHAH: All political parties who are fielding their candidates in North Waziristan constituencies have demanded that the district administration lift the curfew imposed in the volatile tribal district ahead of the July 20 elections so that they can campaign and voters can vote freely.

This was stated by candidates of various political parties while addressing a joint news conference at the Miran Shah Press club on Sunday.

Reading out the joint communiqué, they demanded that security forces should refrain from the electioneering process in the newly-merged tribal districts.

Instead, they were urged to enhance security for the provincial assembly by-elections by installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the polling station to monitor the voting process.

Tribal elders want ‘sensitive’ polling stations relocated

 “They should do duties inside the polling station and they should maintain a suitable law and order situation during the election in tribal districts,” the candidates demanded. The candidates for PK-111 and PK-112 also demanded that polling agents of all candidates should observe the vote-counting process once it commences.

Moreover, form-45 should be shared with the polling agents along with signatures of the returning officer to keep the election process in the newly-merged districts transparent.

The candidates further demanded that the participation of all voters, including men and women, should also be ensured so that no candidate should have to later complaint to the ECP or the election tribunal over not meeting the required ratio for women to vote in the election process.

Polls in erstwhile FATA pushed back to July 20

“We also demanded that Election Commission of Pakistan look into the traditions and norms of the tribal setup,” they said, as they urged the ECP to set up separate polling stations for men and women in the newly-merged districts. The candidates also urged the district administration, security forces to issue production orders of the political candidates who were arrested before the elections so that they can continue their political campaigns freely, in line with established standards of free and fair elections.

There are some 1,895 polling stations in the newly-merged tribal districts for a total of 320,177 registered voters. These include the 178 polling stations set up for the two constituencies in North Waziristan for 210,656 registered male voters and 109,521 registered women voters.

In PK-111, there are 76 polling stations, including 33 polling stations for 92,845 registered male voters and just 18 polling stations for 48,208 registered female voters. There are an additional 25 combined polling stations.

Similarly, in PK-112, there are 102 polling stations, including 26 polling stations for 117,811 registered male voters and 13 polling stations for 61,313 registered female voters. There are a further 63 combined polling stations in the constituency.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 08^th, 2019.