Today (Tuesday, February 6) is the last day of the electioneering for the February 8 general elections as provided in the constitution. Candidates will try to woo the voters until 12 midnight.
On the other hand, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) completed the task of handing over 260 million ballot papers to the district returning officers (DROs) for the polls.
According to the spokesperson for the ECP, legal action will be taken if election rules were violated after the time is over.
He said in a statement that a valid national identity card is required to cast vote. But ballot can be cast if the card is expired by presenting the “original” card before the election official, he added.
The spokesperson attributed the timely completion of the “crucial” responsibility to distribute voting material to the “dedicated efforts and organised planning of the Commission’s staff.
“The dispatching process involved both ground and aerial means, ensuring an efficient and swift distribution of the ballot papers,” he said.
The spokesperson said that all the ballot papers were handed over to the respective DROs and their representatives.
“Despite encountering challenges posed by adverse weather conditions, the ECP staff exhibited resilience and determination, overcoming obstacles to ensure that the task was completed on time,” he added.
He said 700,000 ballot boxes for elections across the country. Of them, 552,000 boxes will be used while 150,000 will be kept in reserve. Two ballot boxes will be kept at each polling booth, one for the National Assembly and the other for provincial assembly.
More than 276,000 polling booths will be set up for voting all over country.
Meanwhile, Punjab Police conducted a full dress rehearsal of to hold general election in a peaceful environment. Security, traffic and logistics arrangements in all regions and districts of the province, including Lahore, deployment of police personnel at polling stations and clusters, CCTV cameras’ working were reviewed during the rehearsal.
Flag marches were held in all districts, including Lahore, in which District Police, Dolphin Squad, Rapid Response Unit, Elite Force and Traffic Police units took part.
Police officers reviewed the overall law and order situation across the province.
The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) released a report on the number of registered voters in national and provincial assemblies’ constituencies. The National Assembly constituency NA-67 Hafizabad has the highest number of 810,723 registered voters, while NA-244 Karachi West 1 has the lowest number of 155,824 votes.
The largest National Assembly constituency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is NA-18 Haripur where the number of registered voters is 724,915. The NA-12 Kohistan has the lowest 196,125 voters.
The constituency NA-209 Sanghar is the largest in terms of voters in Sindh where 607,638 people will vote. The NA-244 Karachi constituency has the least number of 155, 824 voters.
In Balochistan, NA-255 Sohbat Pur-cum-Jaffarabad-cum Usta Muhammad-cum-Nasirabad has the highest number of 532,537 voters, while NA-264 Quetta has the lowest number of 196,752 registered voters.
