BADIN: Elaborate security arran­ge­ments have been made to ensure holding of the election for Matli municipal committee chairman and vice chairman in a peaceful and orderly manner on Tuesday after they were sabotaged on Aug 24 and 25.

Originally scheduled for Aug 24, the election was not held after the district returning officer concerned issued unofficial results a few hours before the start of the polling time declaring Tanzeela Qambrani and Babu Sabhago Khaskehli of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) elected as the chairperson and vice chairman, respectively, uncontested. The DRO rejected the nomination papers of their rivals, PPP dissidents Abdul Rauf Nizamani and Abdul Rehman, as well as the papers submitted by their proposers and seconders citing an authority letter issued by PPP leader Senator Taj Haider.

The Election Commission of Pakistan taking notice of some wrongdoing on the part of the DRO, declared the results null and void and fixed the polling for the next day. However, the PPP candidates and supporters staged protest demonstrations and sit-ins leading to disturbances across the town and its surrounding areas. The local administration expressed its inability to ensure safety and security of candidates and voters and ultimately the polling had to be postponed.

On Monday, election commission appointed ECP Hyderabad division region director Aijaz Ahmed Chauhan as the DRO to supervise the polling process. The Badin SSP has been replaced with Hyderabad SSP Irfan Baloch and Rangers have been requested to assist the police in maintaining law and order during the polling.

Police and Rangers have already been deployed at the venue of the polling and all sensitive points across the town to ensure peace.

Meanwhile, the rival candidates have accommodated their respective voters (councillors) at undisclosed places to ensure that they were not influenced or pressured to change their loyalty until the end of the polling process.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2016