The Election Commission of Pakistan has received a staggering 449,287 applications for postal ballots nationwide, as reported on Friday. The fervour is notably high, with 73,586 applications for National Assembly seats and 74,274 for provincial assembly posts in Punjab alone.
Balochistan follows with 5,758 applications for National Assembly seats and 60,550 for provincial assembly seats.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa contributes significantly, with 72,769 applications for National Assembly and 81,281 for Provincial Assembly. Meanwhile, Sindh reports 24,420 applications for National Assembly seats and 26,649 for provincial assembly ballots.
Moreover Election Commission of Pakistan has decided to make SMS service 8300 free of charge from Monday next.
The announcement was made by ECP’s Spokesperson, Syed Nadeem Hyder, Additional Director General Nighat Sadique, and the Project Director of
Project Management Unit whilst participating in radio talk show on Friday morning. They said the voters can check details of their constituencies and polling stations by sending the number of their computerized identity cards to 8300.
The ECP officials said the voters are required to bring their Computerized National Identity Cards to the polling station for voting. A vote can be cast even if the CNIC is expired or using the token issued for the issuance of a new CNIC.
The ECP officials said a mechanism is in place using the technology to ensure fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
The presiding officers are obligated to send the election results to the Election Commission by 2 am. In the event of any delay, the returning officer will inquire about the cause of the delay from the presiding officer and submit it to the Election Commission. He emphasized that the election results must be finalized by 10 am the next day.
