LAHORE, Sept 9: The 15 per cent “mandatory surplus (back-up) polling personnel” is not available with the city’s returning officers who are to finalize and submit polling scheme on Tuesday (today).
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued directions to the ROs for the appointment of surplus polling staff in proportion to 15 pre cent of the total polling personnel “working under each RO”.
The availability of the excess workforce with the RO is needed to meet any contingency arising during voting.
However, the scheduled recruitment of polling personnel by the ROs for the polls is “barely sufficient for the workload” without availability of any back-up staff.
In the proposed polling scheme, one presiding officer would be deputed for every polling station and two assistant presiding officers are to be appointed for one polling booth. Every polling booth would also be administered by one polling officer.
According to sources, the ROs have been informed by the Punjab district governments officials at a meeting on Saturday that no excess polling staff could be made available to them. It has been learnt, the authorities concerned have shown inability to provide extra women staff in the rural areas after which the ROs have decided to recruit men to meet any contingency.
An RO requesting anonymity said in the previous polls an average of 10 to 15 per cent polling staff has not been turning up on the polling day and back-up staff had been proposed this time to counter this anticipated absenteeism.
He added that keeping in view the shortage of even regular polling staff in the rural areas, male polling staff was being recruited at the polling stations in those areas where the booths for both male and female voters have been allowed to be set up under the provisions of the election laws.
It has been learnt that some 3,750 poling stations have been proposed in the polling scheme for Lahore likely to be submitted by the ROs to the provincial Election Commission on Tuesday. A minimum of 200 polling stations are expected to be administered by each of the city’s 13 ROs while on an average 2,000 polling staff would be placed under each RO in Lahore.
To ensure availability of polling staff, assistant district officers (ADO) working in different departments have been appointed as liaison officers to assist the city’s ROs. These ADOs would also be seeking instructions from their respective deputy district officers (DDOs) and executive deputy officers (EDOs) with regard to the availability of polling staff with the RO and other administrative problems. These DDOs and EDOs are currently working in the departments of excise and taxation, revenue, education and health.
A district returning officer’s office said a requisition for the surplus polling staff had already been forwarded to the authorities concerned.
“We have now been told that the government has arranged an additional staff of 3,000 as back-up for the polling day although the requirement is much more than that,” the official said.