Rangers to supervise cantt polls
Punjab rangers. PHOTO: AFP
The Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment board elections will be held under the supervision of the rangers. For this purpose, three companies have been summoned to be present on polling day.
The rangers will remain deployed until the polling process is completed and the results announced. Police personnel will also be deployed along with rangers.
Cantonment board officials told The Express Tribune that the rangers would supervise elections for 20 wards of both cantonment boards. A deployment plan of the rangers has also been prepared. According to sources, 34 polling stations have been declared highly sensitive, while 77 polling stations have been declared sensitive. All of the polling stations declared sensitive will be controlled by the rangers.
The units of Punjab Rangers will be deployed at the entrances of polling stations while its personnel will be on duty to maintain law and order on polling day which is September 12.
The distribution of polling materials to the staff will begin on the morning of September 11.
The polling staff, including presiding and assistant presiding officers, will be escorted to polling stations and back by the rangers.
The central control room of both the boards has been set up in the main building of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB).
Officials said that to ensure peaceful conduct of the elections, the rangers would also be on duty during rallies and celebrations by the winning candidates after the announcement of results.
Read ECP set to hold cantonment polls
According to election officials, 164,400 voters in Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and 79,536 voters in Chaklala Cantonment Board will exercise their right to vote.
Tough contest likely in some wards
All preparations and arrangements have been completed for elections of 19 seats of Chaklala and Rawalpindi cantonment boards to be held on Sunday. The time for electioneering will end at midnight on Thursday.
Some 164,400 ballot papers have been printed for voters in nine wards of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and 79,536 papers have been printed for 10 wards of Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB).
The ballot papers have been shifted to strong rooms and rangers have been deployed outside them. They will be delivered to polling stations on the night of September 11 under tight security.
The election in ward 2 of RCB has been postponed after the death of a female candidate while 110 candidates will compete in nine remaining wards. In CCB, 77 candidates will compete against each other in 10 wards.
There are 279,529 registered voters in RCB and 170,100 voters in CCB. There are 273 polling stations in RCB, the break-up is 133 polling stations for men, 127 for women, and 13 joint. The number of polling booths for male and female voters is 694 and 358, respectively.
In CCB, there are 143 polling stations of which 73 are for men and 70 for women. There are 410 designated polling booths for men and 202 for women.
A tough contest is expected between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in many wards of both cantonment boards.
Several independents are likely to produce surprise results in the polling results. The voting process is to start on Sunday at 8 am and continue uninterrupted until 5 pm.
The unofficial results will be announced the same day from each polling station while the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will issue the notification of victorious candidates on September 17. There will be four returning officers and each will supervise five wards.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2021.