ISLAMABAD, Nov 23: Chief Election Commissioner Irshad Hasan Khan on Monday appointed 2,101 registration officers and assistant registration officers to facilitate filing of claims , objections and applications for corrections in the electoral rolls for the upcoming local government elections.

Provincial Election Commissioners of Punjab, Sindh, North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan have also been directed by the CEC to ensure strict implementation of his earlier order of simplifying procedures to update the electoral rolls for the 2005 local government elections.

Provincial election commissioners and all deputy election commissioners have also been asked to carry out random checking in the areas of their jurisdictions to ensure that updating process proceeds smoothly and eligible voters are facilitated to file their claims for inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls.

Appeal has again made by the CEC to the eligible voters to avail the opportunity by getting themselves enrolled as a voter in the electoral rolls for the forthcoming local government elections by Dec 31, 2004.

109 registration officers and 1992 assistant registration officers have been appointed to receive claims, objections and applications for corrections. Of them, 994 assistant registration officers have been appointed in Punjab, 935 in Sindh, 255 in NWFP and 208 in Balochistan.

453 revising authorities from amongst judicial officers have also been appointed, before whom the representation against the decision of a registration officer would lie within 15 days from the date of such decisions.

Earlier the CEC directed publication of electoral rolls prepared for the local government elections 2000-01 as draft rolls. These electoral rolls are on display since Aug 9, 2004 in the offices of registration officers/assistant election commissioners, assistant registration officers and at some conspicuous place in each electoral area.