ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finalised arrangements for the first phase of local government elections scheduled to be held on Oct 31 in 12 districts of Punjab and eight districts of Sindh.

The districts in Sindh where the polls will be held are Sukkur, Khairpur, Ghotki, Larkana, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore and Qamber and those in Punjab are Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Chakwal, Bhakkar, Nankana Sahib, Kasur, Pakpattan, Okara, Lodhran, Vehari and Baha-walnagar. Electioneering is in full swing in the districts.

The ECP has extended the time of polling which will begin at 7:30am and continue till 5:30pm without break.

The duration for polling would be 10 hours, said an ECP spokesman.

Take a look: For some Lahore youths, LG polls mean food, fun, frolic

The Commission has directed the election staff to arrive at polling stations two hours before the polling time.

About 35.07 million ballot papers for Punjab and over 11m for Sindh have been printed. Ballot papers would be handed over to the polling staff on Oct 30.

The spokesman said that voters would be required to come to the polling stations with their national identity cards.

Eligible voters have been asked to check details of their polling station by sending their Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) number to 8300.

According to an official, the ECP has started sending a public service message to voters.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2015

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