Karachi:
The Sindh government has declared a public holiday on September 24 in 14 districts of the province to facilitate voters during the next partial elections, according to a notification issued on Monday. The Department of Education of SENDH has also issued instructions to the education officials of the District and the Directorate of Private Schools in this regard.
The letter, sent to the departments in question, said that the voting stations would be established in the schools located in the relevant constituencies. The authorities also ordered the education officials of the district and the Directorate of Private Schools to extend full cooperation in the arrangements.
The districts where the holidays include Ghotki, Sukkur, Khairpur, Mirpurkhas, Uumekot, Matiari, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Dadu, Badin, Thatta, Karachi East, Karachi West and Keamari. The authorities said the decision was aimed at allowing citizens to issue their votes without difficulty.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP) has realized the reports that government employees can boycott electoral tasks during local government surveys. According to a letter from the Commissioner of Joint Elections of Sindh to the provincial chief secretary, the Commission cited social media reports that suggested that some staff had threatened to reject electoral assignments.
“A boycott of government employees could affect the electoral process,” the letter warned. He addressed the district administrations to take immediate measures to guarantee the availability of assigned voting personnel. The commission has mentioned that most electoral staff are from the Department of Education.
Previously, the ECP had announced that partial elections would take place on the same day for 52 vacant seats from the local government in Sindh, including several in Karachi. The authorities said the agreements were being completed to guarantee surveys without problems in all districts where the seats have been vacant.
A total of 23 candidates will play the next partial elections in Hyderabad, while the nominees of the Peoples of the Pakistan (PPP) have already secured seven seats without opposition. Three seats remain vacancies since no eligible candidates were presented.
