Pakistan authorities complete all arrangements for Feb 8 general elections

Islamabad: Pakistani authorities have said that they have completed all arrangements for holding general elections on February 8, including the printing of over 260 million ballot papers for all constituencies of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies.

According to the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP), there are over 120 million registered voters for the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies and 90,675 polling stations have been established across the country, including 41,403 combined polling stations while 25,320 are for male and 23,952 for women voters.

A total of about 18,000 candidates are in the race for the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies.

The four provincial assemblies in which elections will take place are Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan province.

The National Assembly (NA) has a total of 336 seats; 266 general seats, 10 reserved seats for non-Muslims and 60 reserved seats for women.

ECP’s Director of General Political Finance, Masood Akhtar Sherwani, said on Friday that the printing of the ballot paper had been completed, reported The Express Tribune.

“The printing of ballot papers commenced on January 14 and concluded today," he said.

Over 260 million ballot papers were produced, distinguished by colours – green for the National Assembly and white for provincial assemblies, he said, adding that the entire process took place across three printing presses, each subject to special security arrangements.

He said that the total number of candidates in the 2024 election surged by 54.74 per cent as compared to the 2018 figures, leading to a 194.75 per cent increase in the requirement for special papers.

To curb wastage during printing, the size of the ballot papers has been reduced.

He also said ballot papers for constituencies in the restive province of Balochistan had also been successfully delivered.

In response to security concerns and challenging weather conditions in certain regions, he said air shipments have been employed to ensure a secure and efficient delivery process. The delivery of ballot papers for all districts, excluding 33 districts, had been completed, he said.