Voter verification: Polling authority seeks another extension

Provincial election commissioner Mehboob Anwar blames numerous strikes in city for delay.

KARACHI:

The Sindh election commission has again requested that it should be allowed more time to complete the voter verification exercise.

Provincial election commissioner Mehboob Anwar blamed numerous strikes and shutdowns in the city for the delay. “Around 95 per cent of the field work has been completed, but some areas have not been covered due to the strikes”. Anwar acknowledged that the deadline had been originally extended from February 1 to February 11. Anwar said that the exercise would be completed “within one to two days”.

He said it would be “premature” to comment on claims that a number of bogus entries to the voters lists had been uncovered. The exercise began on January 10, after the apex court had directed the polling authority to conduct a door-to-door voter verification last December.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2013.