Re-polling in 362 polling stations in KP today

PESHAWAR: The much-awaited re-polling in 362 polling stations mainly of females is being held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa today.
The Election Commission had announced re-polling after it received sufficient evidence of irregularities in various polling stations in the May 30 local government elections.
An official of the provincial Election Commission told The News that all arrangements for re-polling on 362 polling stations were completed. He said all the polling stations had been declared most sensitive.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had ordered re-polling at these polling stations owing to law and order problems, hindrance and stopping women voters from casting votes in the local government elections on May 30.
The re-polling was delayed from July 5 to July 30 due to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) stay order in the writ petitions of the candidates. The PHC then dismissed the petitions filed against re-polling on 362 polling stations.
As per the data issued by the ECP, re-polling would be held in 15 districts. The ECP stated that re-polling would be held in 29 polling stations in Peshawar, 88 in Nowshera, 45 in Charsadda, 42 in Mardan, 17 in Swabi, five in Kohat, four in Hangu, 70 in Karak, 30 in Bannu, eight each in Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan, seven in Abbottabad, six in Mansehra, two in Haripur and one in Bannu.
The election would be held at 170 female polling stations, 89 male and 101 joint polling stations in the re-polling. It said that the total number of female voters at these polling stations were 254,283 and the male voters were 211,317. It said that 1,290 polling booths including 771 for female and 519 of male were established for the polling.
The ECP on the recommendations of the district returning officers issued notification of re-polling as they had received reports from the presiding officers and returning officers.
The PHC had dismissed the writ petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Member Provincial Assembly from Mardan and advisor to chief minister, Zahid Durrani, who wanted cancellation of the re-polling and fresh local government elections across the province due to worst rigging and mismanagement in the election.
He had requested the court to direct the ECP to hold fresh polls in the province under the supervision of the Pakistan Army as fair and free local government elections were not possible without the army’s deployment.