Daily Times

The Election Commission was fully prepared to hold general elections, whether they occur before the scheduled time or after the dissolution of the assemblies, Secretary Election Commission Umar Hameed Khan said Thursday. During the media briefing, he informed that the Election Commission will finalize constituency delimitation within four to four and a half months following the notification of the census. Election Commission has introduced a political financing management system and all the data is being digitized, this will bring transparency to the system, the use of black money is a problem for the whole country and digitization can improve it. Director General of the Political Finance Wing, Masood Sherwani, emphasized that political finance was an integral aspect of the parliamentary process. As per the Constitution of Pakistan, it was mandatory for every political party to maintain financial records and disclose the sources of their funding. He highlighted that political finance forms an essential component of the political parliamentary process. The Constitution of Pakistan mandates the meticulous bookkeeping of each political party’s finances and the disclosure of funding sources. During the scrutiny process, the political finance wing emphasizes a non-partisan approach and avoids considering political affiliations. Instead, they rely solely on concrete evidence and verifiable documents to carry out their assessments. The Finance Wing consistently shares information with various institutions, including Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), State Bank, Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and others to facilitate the verification process. mentioned that there are 168 political parties registered with the Election Commission. Additionally, guidelines for Chartered Accountants have been established, and there is an ongoing collaboration with political parties to develop a standardized audit report. As part of the process, all political parties will be obligated to submit their financial accounts for thorough scrutiny.

Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal responded to a question by stating that the assembly’s term will conclude on August 12. If the assembly completes its term and is dissolved afterwards, the election will be conducted by October 12. However, if the assembly is dissolved before its scheduled end, the election will be held within 90 days. All election arrangements have been finalized, including the completion of constituencies and the procurement of watermarked ballot papers. In response to a question, it was mentioned that the judiciary has been requested to appoint District Returning Officers from their respective courts, namely Peshawar High Court, Balochistan High Court, Sindh High Court, and Islamabad High Court.