In a controversial move, the Interior Ministry of Pakistan has shut down mobile internet and phones across the country. The move was made minutes before polling stations opened Thursday morning at 8 am.
To find out what voters could do to find out what their polling information is, since they can no longer send a text message to 8300, The Current contacted Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi.
“A serious voter will know all the details already,” he told us on the phone, using WiFi for the call. “Serious voters find out a day before what their polling information is like I did. I messaged 8300 the night before and wrote all my information.”
When we asked if a voter wasn’t able to before, or wasn’t a ‘serious voter’ but was still a ‘voter’ what can they do? “Well, a voter should know his constituency number. They can go to any polling station in their area and might be able to find it,” he said.
When asked that some people can’t find their polling stations easily, and now that the internet is down, what can they do? He recommended that “for those who want to get to their polling station via Google maps, they should print the map at home and then take it and follow it. I used to do this when I was in America, and it’s very easy to do.”
Solangi also said that people used to vote before mobiles existed and can now as well.
But if a voter has issues finding their information, PTI is offering an alternative. You can send your ID card number to Imran Khan’s Facebook page and they will reply, with your block number, polling station. Even if you are not a PTI voter, you will still be able to get your relevant information.
