The Election Commission of Pakistan says is looking to finish pre-position of of ballot papers to all constituencies by Monday to pave the way for free and fair polling on February 8, 2024.
By Nusrat Shaheen
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said Sunday it has completed printing of ballot papers for General Elections 2024 and is looking to complete their delivery to all constituencies across the nation by Monday.
Pakistan goes to polls Thursday, February 8, 2024 to elect the national and provincial assemblies for a five year term. Once elected, the National Assembly will elect the Prime Minister of the country while the four provincial assemblies will each elect their respective Chief Minister.
The ECP has completed the printing of 260 million ballot papers for all 859 constituencies of the country for the General Elections at the three government press agencies, a spokesperson of the Commission said in a statement here in the evening.
The task of printing has also been completed in time for the constituencies for which ballot papers had to be reprinted in light of court decisions, the statement said, adding that the process of distributing ballot papers to electoral staff in each constituency across the country has started and will be complete by Monday.
The spokesperson said the number of contestants for General Elections 2024 is 150 percent of those who fought the 2018 election. This is why the Commission has 260 million ballot papers printed, using 2,170 tonnes of paper, compared with 220 million ballot papers printed in 2018, using 800 tonnes of special security paper.
According to the spokesperson of the Commission, many challenges came up at various stages of the process of printing ballot papers, including litigation and the record-breaking number of contestants. However, ECP has done its duty by rising above all those challenges despite the time constraints, the statement said.
By completing printing ballot papers in a timely fashion, the ECP has ensured that all the voters can exercise their right to vote in the February 8 General General Elections.
The ECP announcement comes as the electoral campaigns of all political parties and candidates are in top gear in the run up to the 24-hour silence period before the polling, when all campaign-related or election-related activity must halt, and no contestants, citizens, or media houses must canvas votes for any party or candidate or try to swing public opinion in any way.
The ECP has taken a number of additional measures this time to keep the credibility of the election above suspicion, including a ban on entrance and exit polls or projections ahead of the polls by the media. The object of all such measures is to give the voters an opportunity to exercise their own free will in voting, in an environment free of external influence or coercion.
Scores of international election observers from a number of influential regional blocks and countries including the European Union, the British Commonwealth, the Russian Federation, Japan, South Africa, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, and Azerbaijan are arriving in Pakistan to cover the conduct of General Elections 2024.
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