LG polls: K-P government, poll body mired in new controversy

The sticking point is whether to hold local bodies’ elections on a single day or in phases


Irfan Ghauri January 26, 2015
The sticking point is whether to hold local bodies’ elections on a single day or in phases. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD:


After settling the biometrics issue, the government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and election authorities have delved into a new controversy – whether to hold the local government (LG) polls on one day or in phases.


The provincial chapter of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has opposed the idea of the K-P government of holding the LG polls in one go, citing security issues.

Sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune that during a meeting at the ECP headquarters on December 30 last year, the then provincial election commissioner Sonu Khan Baloch, opined that providing enough security to the voters would be a real challenge on the polling day if the elections were held in the whole province the same day.

Sonu Khan, who retired on December 31, suggested that it would be better if the province goes for polls in two to three phases. He backed up his point with an analysis of the security situation and availability of the security personnel for election duties.

According to his analysis, the total strength of the provincial law enforcement agencies was fewer than 100,000 while in an extensive exercise of the LG polls, over 50,000 polling booths would have to be set up across the province.

In case of general elections where electorates vote for the candidates of national and provincial assemblies, every voter is issued only two ballot papers – one each for NA and PA.

However, in the LG polls in K-P every voter will be issued seven ballot papers for every category of seats. During the 2013 general elections a total of 150,000 polling booths were set up across country, however, in LG polls ECP plans to set up over 50,000 polling booths at 13,000 polling stations.

This, according to the ECP official, was important to facilitate a voter since every voter would need more time to cast vote in different categories and stamp seven ballot papers.



Under the standard security protocol at least five security personnel should be appointed at a polling station – at least one outside every polling booth and two to three policemen at the main gate. At the polling stations declared sensitive, the number of the security personal has to be increased.

The representative of the K-P government told the meeting that the provincial government wants polls throughout the province on the same day, preferably in May this year.

According to them, in case of holding polls in phases, the results can be manipulated. The reports of winning of a party’s candidates in first phase could affect minds of the voters in other areas where polls would be scheduled for the next phases.

The new controversy between the two once again raises questions if the polls would be held on time.

Earlier, the ECP and K-P government have already spent months to overcome their acrimony on use of biometric machines for verifying a voter’s identity. The K-P government wanted to use biometrics voting at a few constituencies as a pilot project.

The ECP was of the view that use of these machines would delay holding polls besides many other technical difficulties.

In the end, the ECP gave K-P two options, either use biometrics voting system throughout the province or do not use them at all. The K-P government finally capitulated and went for the second option.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2015.

COMMENTS (4)

zaman | 9 years ago | Reply

SO MANY PICTURES on the electoral forms; Pakistan must learn to Read and write and take account of the literacy problem.

Anon | 9 years ago | Reply

ECP is competing with other government bodies for the title of most incompetent and most blatantly opposed to getting anything done. Just listen to the provincial govt... they devised the system. It seems the ECP is once again looking for wiggle room for manipulation.

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