IN order to meet the voter registration deadline, people have to visit the offices of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). One of them, located inside the office of the deputy commissioner of Karachi East, has seriously dilapidated stairs that make one think twice before taking them.

This may result in fatal health injury, especially to senior citizens, who can hardly take these stairs to reach the said office.

One such person, who wanted to have his vote transferred to a fresh address, did manage to reach the office and the relevant official. He also managed to get the relevant form, or so he thought. When he came to submit the form, he was informed that he had been given Form 23 instead of Form 21. Naturally, he had to take the correct form and return to submit the form, meaning another round of risking his life on the stairs.

With this kind of service and this kind of stairs, the ECP is surely not doing any service to the cause of the voters and, indeed, the process of voting. Both service quality and infrastructure need urgent attention of the relevant authorities.

The stairs need to be constructed again with proper steps and support so that citizens may easily reach the office. People will have to revisit the office in August for verification of their submitted forms. As such, the matter needs immediate attention.

Muhammad Hassan Abbasi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2023