Sir: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced the polling timings on May 11, 2013 to be from 8 am to 5 pm. To me, this time frame of eight hours is entirely insufficient to effectively exercise the right of franchise by all the registered voters. There are several factors that need to be taken into consideration to ensure that everybody gets a fair chance to cast his or her vote with ease. Firstly, this time, the elections are falling in summers where the days are long; starting the polling process early and concluding it sometime near sun down is not at all difficult. Secondly, this time, the elections are being held in very challenging circumstances in the face of growing election-related terrorism. If the people are forced to complete this polling exercise in the prescribed short timeframe of eight hours this will result in long queues of voters at polling stations, which would make them soft prey for the saboteurs to operate. Thirdly, some 40 million new voters have reportedly been added to our electoral system. This will naturally result in more rush at the polling stations since a large number of charged youth are also expected to show up for polling. In the light of these observations, it will be pertinent if the ECP announces extension of polling timings — at least from 7 am to 7 pm throughout the country.
S ZAFAR
Islamabad
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