Govt Employees face difficulties getting Postal Ballot Papers

Voting through postal ballot paper is feared to be lost due to the incompetence and mismanagement of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

According to the details, the Election Commission had set the deadline for government employees to apply for the postal ballot paper on January 22. The government employees downloaded the proposed application form from the Election Commission website and proceeded to the returning officer’s office with complete information and identity card copies.

Staff at the offices of the Returning Officers are not receiving applications for postal ballot paper and they are of the opinion that the duties of the employees for the election have not started yet. After the duties are assigned, three days will be given in which government employees and teachers will be able to apply for the postal ballot paper.

Another problem is that the offices of the Returning Officer have been set up in other tehsils instead of the respective tehsils, due to which the employees who want to vote through postal ballot paper are facing difficulties.

Offices of Returning Officers of NA 143 Chichawatni and PP 202 have been set up in Sahiwal instead of Chichawatni. If only three days are given after the duties are assigned, thousands of employees will miss out on submitting their applications.

The third issue is the location of the offices of the Returning Officers. The Election Commission has not adopted any mechanism through which the location of these offices can be known to the employees of different departments.

The proposed application form given by the Election Commission on the website is also complex with room for improvement. The statistical block code, serial number and household number should be printed in dim light on the blank spaces in this form so that the employees do not find it difficult while filling the form.