KARACHI, May 11: Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam cast his vote late on Saturday afternoon as the polling began with an inordinate delay at different polling stations in the NA-250 constituency, stretching from the salubrious parts of Clifton and the Defence Housing Authority to Qayyumabad and Saddar.The SHC chief justice was among the first comers to find that his polling station at a Coast Guard school near the OMI Hospital was still locked at around 9am with no signs of election staff. However, he left after remaining outside the polling station for some time as other voters raised slogans against the election commission.

Later, the official sources said, CJ Alam reached the SHC where an election cell was set up for coordination with the returning officers in connection with public complaints about polling. They said the chief justice again left a little after 4pm for the polling station, where he waited for his turn in the queue to cast his vote at around 6pm.

CEC The Chief Election Commissioner, retired Justice Fakharuddin G. Ebrahim, cast his vote at the Hampton School polling station in Clifton Block I on Saturday morning, agencies add. Speaking to the media he appealed to the people to cast their ballots.

The CEC said a transparent system had been devised for the polling and no one could resort to rigging.

He further said that the future of the nation lay in democracy and in that regard May 11 was a most important day.

Justice Ebrahim lauded the role of the media in the elections.

CM The caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh, retired Justice Zahid Qurban Alvi, cast his vote at around 9.30am on Saturday at the Qazi Khuda Bakhsh Govt Primary School polling station in Soldier Bazaar, where the polling had started late.

People present there complained to the chief minister of late polling on which he directed the provincial election commissioner to ensure that election material was supplied to all polling stations immediately.

Later, the caretaker CM visited different areas, including Gulbahar, Nazimabad, SITE, Mauripur and Sultanabad. Sindh chief secretary Aijaz Chowdhry and IG Shahid Nadeem Baloch accompanied him.