Daily Times

DADU: A fire broke out in the Election Commission’s (EC) old building office in Dadu on Sunday which burnt all electoral record including ballot papers, boxes, polling booths and other voting material.

Reportedly, the residents of the area and the office’s staff extinguished the fire on a self-help basis as the fire brigade staff arrived late.

According to an eye witness, heaps of garbage placed in front of the office caught fire which engulfed the office.

Later, three fire brigades arrived to douse the fire which had burnt much record.

However, the EC’s staff managed to save some of the record by breaking into the store room.

The Dadu District Election Commissioner Atta Muhammad Birohi said that the old record had been burnt; however, the necessary record was already shifted to the new building of EC.

Meanwhile, as the new spread in the city, candidates of different political parties started to demand a recounting of votes in the recent general elections.

Citizens and social activists have demanded an impartial inquiring into the incident.

Published in Daily Times, August 13^th 2018.