Bankers to perform election duties due to shortage of staff'

For the first time in Pakistan's history, hundreds of bankers will volunteer their services for the July 25 elections due to shortage of staff for poll duties, according to a media report today.

Previously, mostly teaching staff of schools and colleges performed election duties.

Dawn newspaper reported that the decision to take bankers' services had been taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and conveyed to the State Bank which had notified all scheduled banks across the country to volunteer their employees for training of their job on July 25.

The process had already started in Sindh, an official said, adding that the bankers would be trained within the shortest possible time.

"It's first time in the electoral history of Pakistan that bankers are asked to volunteer their services for polling day. The provincial election commissions (PECs) have been asked to coordinate with the State Bank to get the services of required bankers associated with all scheduled banks to meet the shortage of election staff," the paper quoted the official as saying.

The ECP estimates that a total of 735,000 volunteers are required for the gigantic exercise.

The ECP said that only officers with good reputation who had no affiliation with any political party have been considered for appointment as district returning officers and returning officers and other polling staff.

In reply to a question about the challenge in deputing banking professionals for election duties as they had never been part of such exercise in the past, the official said the training of polling staff was meant to meet all such challenges.