13 January 2005	Thursday	02 Zilhaj 1425

ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: As many as 65,000 polling stations and 0.24 million polling booths would be set up during the April local government elections to be held in 6,025 union councils , Chief Election Commissioner Irshad Hasan Khan announced here on Wednesday.

"The Election Commission is prepared to conduct the forthcoming local government elections in which law enforcing agencies would also be deployed to ensure peaceful and orderly elections," the CEC said while briefing the representatives of EU countries' missions in Pakistan.

He said polling stations would be established on the same sites where last polls were held to avoid objections. The contesting candidates would be duly informed about polling stations in new sites.

"The CEC is not a mere mechanic in organizing the electoral machine for the conduct of an election, rather he is an engineer-in-chief of the democratic process," he observed.

He said 63.2 million voters would caste their vote during the local government elections for which 1.02 million polling staff would be deployed. To facilitate women voters in urban areas, separate polling stations with female staff would be established. In rural areas, combined polling stations would be set up having separate male/female booths.

Female presiding officers, in addition to the polling personnel, would also be provided the assistance of an attendant to carry ballot boxes and other election material.

He said a code of conduct for candidates would also be issued, laying down comprehensive guidelines for carrying out political activities in a peaceful and orderly manner.

Judicial officers, with the concurrence of chief justices of the high courts, would be appointed district returning officers, returning officers and assistant returning officers to lend credibility to the process.

He said carbonized statement of count would be prepared by the presiding officer at the polling station, a copy of which would be provided to polling agents, while another copy would be pasted outside the polling station for the information of general public.

A manual of suggestions for polling agents, containing a checklist of "dos" and "don'ts" and "the things to look for" during the polling process has been prepared. Foolproof security arrangements would be made for the conduct of peaceful and orderly elections, he said.