By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan’s meteorological department has predicted widespread rain on election day, July 25 (Wednesday) , as the new spell of monsoon is expected to start in several parts of the country from Sunday.
“Currents of monsoon are expected to start penetrating Pakistan from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal on July 22; A new spell of rain and thunderstorms will hit Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan within next 24 hours,” said Chief Meteorologist, Muhammad Riaz.
This is the first general election being held during Monsoon season since 1970’s first elections held on one-man, one-vote basis.
The rains are likely to continue till the end of the week and can affect the process of polling.
Pre-empting the urban flooding and increase in rivers flows, the disaster management authority , PDMA has deputed officers to deal with natural disasters and started work to monitor flood and sensitive points across Punjab province. Director Local Government, Punjab has written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to avoid mismanagement on election day.
Since the last week of June , Pakistan has received below normal rains by 6 percent .