HYDERABAD: EC officials face staff problem: Newly-created districts
By Our Correspondent
HYDERABAD, July 20: Assistant election commissioners in newly-created districts are facing problems of staff and furniture. Moeedul Haq, Ahmad Ali Halepoto, Aijaz Anwar Chohan, Waseem Ahmed Jafri and Abdul Zubair Khan have been appointed assistant election commissioners for Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Jamshoro and Umerkot districts respectively.
The relevant record has been provided to them but there are complaints regarding non-availability of required number of staff and furniture.
There is also question of suitability of places given for setting up the offices.
Election commission officials of the Hyderabad division told Dawn that while the offices had been set up, complete staff was yet to be provided to them.
In Tando Mohammad Khan, the assistant election commissioner is working with only two lower division clerks and the Matiari official has only clerk.
The main problem for the Matiari assistant election commissioner is availability of a proper office as it is located on the Nasarpur Road which officials say is unsuitable.
While the electoral process has already begun, adequate number of staff is yet to be made available to the assistant election commissioners given the fact that during elections workload multiplies when complaints and applications of different natures from candidates and their electorates start pouring in.
The Jamshoro official has been given an office at the Technical Training Centre near the Kotri railway track.
“After all we have to start work, we cannot wait for a proper office because the electoral process is underway,” said one of the officials.
He added that a suitable office remained a big problem which was to be provided by the district government.
There are now four talukas in the newly-created Hyderabad district, three each in Matiari, Tando Allahyar and Tando Mohammad Khan and four in the Jamshoro district. Likewise, there are 52 union councils in Hyderabad, 19 each in Matiari and Tando Allahyar districts and 13 in the Tando Mohammad Khan district.
In the first phase, the electoral process has started in Tando Allahyar and Thatta districts of the defunct Hyderabad division.
The process in the remaining 12 districts of Sindh, including defunct divisions of Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas, will begin from July 23.
