Police officers as well as presiding officers, who will perform election duties, took oath on Sunday to maintain neutrality during the election process. The oath taking ceremony was held in the federal capital where district returning officers administered the oath. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a total of 1.6 million staff has been deputed for poll duties across the country. A total of 85,307 presiding officers, 510,356 assistant presiding officers and 255,178 polling officers will render their services on the Election Day. The sources privy to the ECP say a total of 4,945 polling stations lack basic facilities. Despite repetitive directives from the commission, the provincial governments didn’t ensure to cater the needs of all polling stations, the ECP officials lamented. The sources shared that about hundreds of sensitive polling station does not even have a boundary wall. Published in Daily Times, July 23rd 2018.