MUZAFFARABAD: Commissioner Chaudhry Imtiaz Ahmed on Tuesday said that all operational arrangements had been finalised to ensure fool-proof security and peaceful conduct of the general elections on July 21 in the state.
“Unprecedented arrangements had been made for holding the elections in a free, fair and transparent manner,” the commissioner said while addressing a news conference along with Police Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Rashid Naeem.
He advised voters to visit their respective polling stations on the election-day to exercise their democratic right without any fear as army and police personnel would be present there for their complete security.
“There will be no hindrance for supporters when casting their votes for the candidate of their own choice,” he said and added, “A helicopter would be available to tackle any untoward situation and for aerial surveillance of the mountainous region.”
The commissioner said that there are a total of 1,053 polling stations in the seven constituencies of Muzaffarabad division, out of which only two were sensitive, adding that the division had been divided into 93 sectors and zones at the constituency level.
“At every zone, a senior magistrate, a police officer and a lieutenant colonel will supervise the security arrangements,” he said, adding that at the sector level, a station house officer (SHO) would be performing his duties, while a magistrate would be responsible for two sectors.
He said that there would be a three-layer security in zones and sectors to avoid any untoward incident, while Quick Response Forces (QRFs) of army and police troops would be deployed at after every 10 polling stations, to timely tackle any emergency.
Later, the commissioner said that arrangements had been completed for transportation of election material to the polling stations in a smooth manner. He gave a detailed overview of the security arrangements and logistic support the district administration was extending to the polling staff and personnel of law enforcement agencies performing election duties.
