Karachi: Polling is underway for by-elections on the 63 vacant seats in the local government bodies in 24 districts of Sindh.
A total of 449 polling stations have been established in Sindh for the by-polls where a total of 434 candidates are in the field. Over 690,000 voters are eligible to cast their votes in these by-polls.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the polling started at 8 am and will continue till 5 pm without any breaks.
In Karachi, the by-elections are being held for the positions of chairmen and vice chairmen of 11 union committees (UCs), as well as 15 vacant seats of ward members.
It is pertinent to mention that the results of the 11 UCs may change the party position in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, where, currently, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is the largest party, followed by the Jamaat-e-Islami with a close margin.
A press release issued by the ECP said all the presiding officers had been asked to do their best to ensure peaceful and fair conduct of the polls. All the polling agents of the contesting candidates would get form 11 and form 12 on a timely basis after the completion of the polling process for maintaining transparency, the statement read.
The ECP said that all 168 polling stations in seven districts of Karachi had been declared highly sensitive. Over 7,000 police personnel would perform duties to maintain law and order during polling in the city.
The provincial election commissioner has asked the Sindh chief secretary and inspector general of police to make sure that polling was held in a peaceful and fair manner.
