Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Secretary General Senator Farhatullah Babar has expressed serious concern over the order that only female polling agents will be allowed at the female polling stations in the rural areas of Sindh. “The latest order is an inexplicable departure from the past practice and is aimed at leaving female polling stations entirely at the mercy of official polling staff without necessary oversight by the representatives of political parties”, he said in a statement today..

Previously, male polling agents used to oversight the voting process at female polling stations due to lack of female election workers after mutual agreement of the contesting candidates, he said.

Why this abrupt restriction was imposed just two days before elections, he asked?

“If at all it was necessary, the Election Commission of Pakistan should have issued directives several months ago to enable candidates and parties train female political workers on how to keep an eye on various facets of polling on the polling day,” he said.

“The abrupt order at this stage amounts to leaving the polling stations at the mercy of polling staff to manipulate at will the activities on the polling day without oversight of candidates and parties through polling agents,” he added.

He continued: “Army personnel to be posted at the polling stations are complete strangers to the female voters of the area. If strangers can be posted at female polling stations why not male polling agents belonging to the same locality be posted with the consent of the candidates and parties?” he asked.

“The latest order will only tilt the scales against popular political parties and amounts to pre-poll rigging. The PPP calls upon the ECP to reverse its order and allow male polling agents at the female polling stations with mutual consent of candidates and parties,” he said.

Published in Daily Times, July 24^th 2018.