Poll officials battle mismanagement, exhaustion

At least 15 staff members fell unconscious due to dehydration during distribution of supplies.

PESHAWAR:

At least 15 staffers of various polling stations fell unconscious due to dehydration and heat exhaustion on Friday while mismanagement was the norm during the distribution of ballot boxes and other material needed for the polls.

The material were distributed at Qayyum Sports Complex where each presiding officers were provided ballot boxes, ballot papers, security personnel and salaries for the staff on duty. However, the distribution activities were far from smooth sailing.

Many staffers could be seen searching for their co-workers, unfamiliar with the partners assigned to them. Moreover, they had to go from one place to another to collect all the necessary material as no specific collection point had been established for this purpose.

Female staff members were the most affected due to the absence of any shade and non-availability of clean drinking water, provisions for which were not made at all. They also had to carry the ballot boxes and material themselves. Many staffers complained of lack of proper management at the stadium.



“Peshawar has four NA seats; the government should have set up four different points in the stadium so that every presiding officer could easily collect the relevant material,” said Arshad Khan, a presiding officer.

Khan added many of the officers were unfamiliar with the staff assigned to work with them so they had to contact them on phone and ask them to meet at a specific location. “The distribution process began at 9am, it is 2pm now and we still haven’t received all our material,” Khan complained.

According to a Rescue 1122 official, a total of 29 people were treated for dehydration, 15 of them were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) while the rest were administered first aid on the spot. “Additional ambulances were called in at around 2pm when the number of people affected by the heat increased,” he added.

Anis Khan, a teacher assigned polling duty, said: “In the 2008 elections, there was a specific point from where each presiding officer could collect material. However, this time around the government has neglected to facilitate the staff serving at Peshawar’s polling stations.”

Anis complained men and women had to stand in one line to collect their material, saying there should have been separate queues or distribution points for them.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2013.