The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) made it clear on Wednesday that the elections will be held on February 8 across the country.
ECP CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja presided over the meeting of the electoral watchdog in Islamabad. On this occasion, the ECP said: “No proposals are being reviewed about delaying the polls in KP and Balochistan.”
During the meeting, matters in line with the publication of the ballot papers were discussed.
The ECP stated: “After today, papers from the constituencies with printing regulations cannot be printed. The special features paper has been discontinued, and printing corporations are also facing a shortage of resources.”
Speaking to media in Islamabad, Sikandar Sultan Raja said: “The electoral watchdog has ensured to provide a level playing field to all the political parties. We had submitted the detailed report to the Supreme Court. Despite that, the instructions had been issued to the chief secretaries and IGs.”
“We will provide the elections’ results until 1:00 am, according to the law. The reason behind using the EMS instead of the RTS is to ensure the conduct of transparent polls,” Raja said.
He said: “The ECP is fulfil its responsibility greatly in line with the constitution.”
The Commission has implemented several key decisions. Firstly, the Commission has banned the use of mobile phones within polling booths on the polling day, scheduled for February 8. Additionally, it has exempted compliance with any forthcoming court rulings regarding the approval of nomination papers. Furthermore, the Commission has reiterated its stance against printing new ballot papers, despite repeated calls for such action. These decisions were made in response to urgent concerns raised by the electoral administration.
