Balochistan LG polls: Polling underway in 32 districts

QUETTA: Polling is underway for the Local government (LG) polls in 32 out of 34 districts of Balochistan on Sunday, under strict security arrangements.

According to details, polling will continue till 5:00 on Sunday evening without any break.

Overall 3,552,398 registered voters will take part in the polls while 5,226 polling stations including 576 for men and 562 for women are established for the Balochistan LG polls.

1974 polling statements are declared sensitive and 2034 are highly sensitive. The voting process is being monitored by the special secretary from the EC Balochistan office.

Tight security measures have been taken to avoid any kind of untoward incident during the elections across the province.

The chief election commissioner said that any kind of interference in the polling will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against the violators.

He asked the people of Balochistan to come out of their homes and exercise their right to vote for the election of the local bodies’ representatives.

ECP rejects plea

Earlier in the day, the ECP rejected a plea from the Balochistan government to postpone local government elections in the province.

During the hearing, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the ECP could not withdraw its decision to hold local government elections and if the provincial authorities will make an excuse then the matter would be taken up with the Supreme Court of Pakistan.