Daily Times

Interim Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi said on Saturday that ‘more than ample resources’ have been provided to hold general elections on February 8.

Addressing the media in Islamabad, the caretaker minister assured that the nation is all set to have ‘free, fair and transparent elections’ and the caretaker setup has remained firm in holding polls on the date announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The minister said the government has made foolproof security arrangements for voters on polling day. The country has seen a sudden upsurge in violence in recent weeks, with multiple attacks carried out in different areas in the past few days.

Solangi stated that the main responsibility of providing security would rest with the police as the first tier. The paramilitary forces will assist as the second tier and the armed forces will act as the quick reaction force in the third tier respectively. He further said the electoral watchdog has issued various deadlines for the voting process, including for the final stage of the elections and the transmission of results.

The ECP, as per rules, informed all political parties and independent candidates in the election fray that their canvassing campaign must end 48 hours before the voting day, which would be midnight between Feb 6 and 7. As per the law, the ECP reminded the candidates, that after 12 am between Feb 6 and 7, no person would organise or participate in any meeting, procession, corner meeting or any such political activity. “Legal action will be taken against those who violate the law,” it warned.

The ECP instructed all the returning officers and the presiding officers that the election results of the Feb 8 vote must be sent by 2 am. However, if the results remained incomplete by that time, those could be relayed by 10 am the next morning. Technology will be fully used to make the general elections 2024 transparent and impartial, the ECP said in a statement. For that purpose, it added, the Election Management System (EMS) would be used, through which the presiding officer concerned would forward the picture of ‘Form 45’ to the RO immediately.

The statement said that the presiding officers would be obliged to send the results of all the polling stations electronically or through available means.