The Caretaker Provincial Cabinet of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reiterated its commitment to provide a level playing field to all political parties and has asked them to follow the Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) during their election campaigns. Besides the directives of the Election Commissions, these SOPs include holding large political gatherings in designated areas notified by the provincial government during daylight to ensure efficient security and safety of the participants.
The cabinet met under the Chairmanship of the Caretaker cabinet, Chief Minister Justice (Retd) Arshan Hussain Shah finalized preparations for the upcoming general elections in light of the directives of the Election Commission reiterating that every effort will be made to ensure free and fair elections in the province. The Chief Minister said that all resources have been mobilized for the purpose and every effort is being made to ensure transparency and efficient utilization of the taxpayer’s money. The Cabinet was briefed in detail about the preparations for the upcoming general elections.
It would ensure the availability and placement of human resources, mapping of missing facilities, and placement of IT staff and equipment. The Cabinet assured that provision of ramps at polling stations to facilitate persons with disabilities, rationalization of sensitive and most sensitive polling stations, security arrangements, needs of CCTV cameras, transport arrangements for polling staff & equipment, security plan, SOPs for political gatherings, identification of spots in every district for political gatherings.
The upcoming General Election-2024 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be held for 55 National Assembly constituencies and 145 Provincial Assembly seats for which 15,737 polling stations will be set up throughout the province, out of which 4843 will be for men and 4285 for female voters. The cabinet was informed that 4812 polling stations have been identified as the most sensitive, whereas 6581 have been identified as sensitive polling stations.