The Sindh government has formally sent a request to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday for extending the duration of the ongoing verification of voters lists in the province, especially in the rain-affected districts,. According to official sources, Sindh Chief Secretary Raja Abbas has forwarded an application to the chief election commissioner. The letter has been sent after the PPP Sindh demanded an extension during the meeting of the party’s Sindh Council on Sunday. The demand was made in the wake of recent disastrous monsoon rains that affected at least 8.3 million persons in 17 districts. The ECP’s provincial authorities had also admitted recently that the verification process facing hurdles in the rain-hit areas.
Provincial Election Commissioner Sono Khan Baloch left for Islamabad on Tuesday evening to attend meetings convened by the chief election commissioner on Wednesday and Thursday. Besides reviewing the overall process of the verification of voters’ lists in the country, the ECP would also discuss Sindh’s request during the meetings. The ECP had postponed the process in two districts – Tando Muhammad Khan and Badin and some parts of Tando Allahyar district due to the displacement of a large population after heavy rains and breaches in the drains. However, the process has been halted in other affected districts as well.
Earlier, the ECP had postponed the process in 3,923 census blocks out of a total of 13,615 in Karachi due to the law and order situation in the city and a decision in this connection is also expected to be made in the meetings. According to the voter lists prepared by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), around 20 million voters are registered in Sindh province, including 6.8 million voters in Karachi. It had been estimated that the voters’ registration process would be completed by March 2012 in three phases. The first phase that began on August 20 is due to be completed by September 30.
