WNAM REPORT: The voters have started casting their votes as nationwide polling commenced at 8 a.m this morning and will continue till 5pm as authorities are committed to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted electoral process.
Over 128 million registered voters will have their say in today’s general elections that will elect the 16th legislative assembly in the centre.
People will be casting their votes at 90,675 polling stations for a total of 5,121 candidates contesting for the 266 seats of the constituent assembly.
There are 128 million registered voters in the country, according to the data of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Out of the total 90,675 polling stations, 46,065 have been labelled as sensitive and 18,437 others as highly sensitive, according to ECP data.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja Wednesday talked to the chief secretaries and inspectors general of police (IGPs) of the four provinces and directed them to keep security on high alert to ensure the security of voters.
The authorities vowed all arrangements for peaceful elections, just hours after deadly blasts rocked Balochistan, killing nearly 30 people and injuring dozens of others.
According to the commission’s spokesman, the CEC also asked them to complete the deployment of security personnel as early as possible for voters’ security as well as the district returning officers and returning officers across the country.
Particularly, during a talk with the chief secretary and IG police Balochistan, CEC Raja expressed grief over the two acts of terrorism in the province and assured them that if they needed the support of ECP, they should inform him accordingly.
Its a public holiday today to provide the voters an opportunity to exercise of right of franchise in a smooth and convenient manner. The Commission has already issued a Code of Conduct for the voters as well for media-persons for the election day.
The polling agents have been advised to display authorization cards. The ECP said that there would be a complete ban on any campaign within the radius of 400 meters of a polling station and added that no candidate, polling agent or their supporters would interfere or hinder the official functioning.
The ECP has categorized over 17,500 as highly sensitive, 32,508 as sensitive and 42,500 as normal, out of a total of 92,500 polling stations nationwide. About 2,038 polling stations in Balochistan and 4,344 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been categorized as highly sensitive.
Likewise, 15,829 polling stations in Punjab, 8,030 in Sindh, 2,068 in Balochistan, and over 6,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are classified as sensitive. The ECP has completed the training of approximately 1.49 million election staff to ensure the smooth execution of the electoral process.
The Commission has established an Election City in its premises, equipped with the latest technology to swiftly disseminate election results of 855 constituencies to the media. A comprehensive strategy has been worked out to receive election results via WhatsApp, email, and fax.
The ECP has also set up an alternative website to ensure uninterrupted dissemination of results in case of any disruptions. The Election Management System (EMS) will operate even if internet connectivity were not available. Satellite communication arrangements have also been made in some areas facing connectivity issues.
Under the EMS, the photo of the Form 45 prepared by the Presiding Officer containing the result of the respective polling station will be swiftly transmitted to the respective Returning Officer for compiling of the results of the constituency on Form-47, which will be forwarded to the ECP and also shared with the media.
In case of connectivity issues, the results will be compiled through off-line modules. The government has deployed over 648,000 security personnel nationwide to ensure the safety of voters, as well as, conduct of fair and transparent polling process.
