The voter count in Islamabad stands at 1.083 million, Punjab has over 73.278 million voters, Sindh records 26.994 million voters, K-P has 21.928 million voters, and Balochistan’s total voters are 5.37 million….reports Asian Lite News
More than 128.5 million people in Pakistan will vote in the upcoming general elections, in which 69.2 million male voters and 59.3 million women voters will cast their vote to choose the next Pakistani government, The Express Tribune reported on Tuesday.
It reported quoting the Pakistan Election Commission, which released details of registered voters across the country.
In Islamabad, the overall voter count is 1.083 million, with 568,406 male voters and 514,623 female voters.
In Punjab, the total voter count exceeds 73.278 million, with over 39.122 million male voters and more than 34.085 million female voters, according to the Election Commission.
In Sindh, the total voter count is 26.994 million, with 14.4612 million male voters and over 12.382 million female voters.
For Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the total number of voters is 21.928 million, with 11.944 million male voters and 9,983,722 female voters, The Express Tribune reported.
The total number of voters in Balochistan is 5.37 million. The number of male voters is 3.16 million while that of female voters is 2.35 million.
According to a statement issued by the electoral body, “The ECP’s commitment to transparency is evident in this disclosure, providing citizens with accurate electoral information.”
It added, “This disclosure aligns with the Election Commission’s continuous efforts to keep an updated and easily accessible record of the nation’s voting population.”
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) made public the rules it would follow for candidates wishing to file nominations for seats in the national and provincial assemblies, ARY News reported.
As per the election schedule, nomination papers are accepted from December 20 to December 22.
The nomination papers can be filed from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. “The nomination fees for the National Assembly candidates and provincial assemblies’ candidates have been (PKR) 30,000 and 20,000, respectively,” the ECP said.
The candidate has two options for paying the fees: cash or depositing it at a bank location. “A candidate will submit his/her income tax returns of three years, annexed with nomination papers,” the guidelines read, according to ARY News.
“The age of a candidate on last date of submitting the nomination papers must not be lesser than 25 years,” the ECP said.
“A candidate of the National Assembly seat must be a voter of any place within Pakistan”. “A candidate of a provincial assembly must be a native of the concerned province,” the ECP announced.
According to ECP, voters in the relevant constituency must suggest and support a candidate for a general seat.
Pakistan’s general elections are slated to take place on February 8, 2024.
Meanwhile, the process of filing nomination papers will finally begin on Wednesday after 144 district returning officers and 859 returning officers across the country take their oath on Tuesday. This will be followed by the issuance of public notices to formally invite nominations, Dawn News reported. (ANI)
ECP Defers Imran’s Indictment
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday deferred the indictment of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry in a case related to contempt of the electoral body and the chief election commissioner (CEC), Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
A four-member bench of the ECP reached the Adiala Jail in the morning, where both Imran Khan and Fawad Chaudhry have been incarcerated to chargesheet the leaders. The ECP bench deferred the indictment and adjourned the hearing till December 27.
Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail, Imran Khan’s lawyer Shoaib Shaheen said Imran Khan’s petition challenging the trial in prison was pending before the Lahore High Court. Shaheen said that orders for the trial were passed without any lawful authority, Dawn reported.
He said, “This is an open trial case, only the place of hearing has changed,” adding that the case could be heard transparently only when the media was present. He further said that family members of the leaders, media, the public and lawyers should be permitted to attend the proceedings of indictment.
He complained that Imran Khan’s legal team with the complete case was not permitted to enter the prison today. He said, “Our files were checked for half an hour as we waited. Even the ECP members left after waiting,” adding that the indictment was deferred as Imran Khan’s lawyers and advocate general could not reach for the hearing in time.
Shoaib Shaheen further said, “Where is the level playing field when we can’t discuss the case with Imran?” he asked. “All other political parties except the PTI have been allotted their election symbols. The ECP is responsible for stopping pre-poll rigging, according to Dawn report.
Meanwhile, Fawad Chaudhry, through his lawyer Faisal Chaudhry, submitted a plea to the ECP requesting an open trial for the contempt proceedings.
Fawad Chaudhry stressed that the proceedings in central jail Adiala “are not open, transparent and are in square violation of law and the Constitution.” He stated that the electoral watchdog had a constitutional duty to extend constitutional rights to the applicant in letter and spirit.
In the plea, he said, “It is also strange and shocking that the learned members of the ECP have decided to start proceedings in jail, that in the applicant’s firm opinion is not in accordance with the stature and respect of a constitutional body such like.”
Fawad Chaudhry said that “to victimise the political opponents the trials behind the jail walls have become the order of the day.” He called the closed-door trial “highly obejectionable” and added that it was in “complete derogation of basic Constitutional rights of the applicant as well as in complete negation of international law fundamental human rights and international treaties.”
On December 6, the ECP decided to carry out jail trial of Imran Khan and Fawad Chaudhry, keeping in view the interior ministry’s refusal to present the former Pakistan Prime Minister before the commission, citing security concerns, Dawn reported.
In 2022, the electoral watchdog started contempt proceedings against Imran Khan, former PTI leaders Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry for allegedly using “intemperate” language against the chief election commissioner and the ECP.
The three leaders, instead of appearing before the electoral watchdog, challenged the ECP notices and contempt proceedings in various high courts, stating that Section 10 of the Elections Act 2017, which is the statutory provision regarding the commission’s power to punish for contempt, was against the Constitution.
The three leaders also requested to court to grant them declaratory relief from the charges. In January, the Supreme Court permitted the ECP to continue proceedings against Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar. On June 21, the electoral watchdog took the decision to frame charges against the three leaders, which is yet to be done.
During the previous hearing, the ECP said that it will conduct indictment proceedings against Imran Khan and Fawad Chaudhry in prison, according to Dawn report. It also asked the Pakistan’s Interior Ministry to make arrangements in this regard. (ANI)
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