[🇵🇰] Pakistan General Elections -- 2024

[ghazi]

Pakistan’s general elections are scheduled for February 8, and for some it will be their first time casting a vote. For our readers, Business Recorder is breaking down the steps in order to make the exercise easier and simpler.

Here are a few things to consider before casting your ballot.

To prevent confusion on election day, it is wise to find out where you will cast your ballot in advance.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has introduced a text message service that enables you to find out your constituency in order to address this.

Text your National Identity Card (NIC) number to 8300, making sure to include all digits without spaces or dashes.

You will receive the block code, serial number, and name of the electoral region once you have mailed in your CNIC.

Read the complete details here

Bringing your CNIC to the polling place is essential. Even if you bring photocopies and other documents, you will not be allowed inside.

Please reconsider if you were about to snap a picture or a selfie while voting. Bringing a cellphone is not permitted at all. Leave your phone at home or in a secure location.

After leaving the polling place, however, you can snap a photo of your thumb that has the specific ink applied to it.

Voting will take place from 8:00 am to 6:00pm. To avoid a long queue, try to arrive early on during the day.

Wait for your time in the queue, and the presiding officer will verify that your name and electoral number are listed.

After calling it out, the officer will mark it off the list to let you know that you have been given two ballots.

If you forget to look for the presiding officer’s signature and stamp on the back of both papers, your vote won’t be accepted.

There will be two ballots provided to you. The white voting paper is for the provincial parliament; the green ballot paper is for the national assembly.

After that, the presiding officer will imprint your thumb impression on the electoral rolls using a unique, non-erasable ink. This will be done to demonstrate that you’ve used your right to vote.

This portion of the ballot paper will be retained by the presiding officers for their records.

Make sure the ballot papers have:

• ECP’s watermark
• Official nine-matrix seal
• Not a paper or anything else attached to it
• Does not have stamps on more than one candidate’s election symbols

After that, you’ll be led to a polling place. Verify that no one else is present or trying to get you to cast a vote for a certain entity.

Make sure the ink is dry before properly folding the ballot papers once you have stamped both of them.

Proceed to the voting booths and insert the green ballot paper into the green-topped box and the white ballot paper into the white-topped box.

 

[ghazi]

Bilawal vows to change Karachi’s fortune in five years if PPP elected​

PPP chairman says city will be given representation it deserves in Sindh cabinet

News Desk
February 05, 2024

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressing a rally in Karachi on February 5, 2024. PHOTO: PPP MEDIA CELL

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday stated that if the people of Karachi elected PPP candidates from at least 20 National Assembly seats, the city’s landscape will change within five years.

The Pakistan’s financial capital 22 and 47 national and provincial assembly seats,

 

[ghazi]

'Imran not on ballot, but still on Pakistan’s mind'​

Ex-PM remains wildly popular among his supporters who grew up watching him win matches from impossible situations

AFP
February 05, 2024

Former prime minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his residence in Lahore May 18, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS

His name may not be on the ballot, but former prime minister Imran Khan will be on the country's mind as Pakistan votes in an election this week that observers say is deeply flawed without his participation.

The former international cricket star has been given three lengthy prison sentences in under a week and been banned from politics for 10 years -- officially excluding him from an election it never looked like he would be allowed to contest.

Khan enjoyed popular support when he became prime minister in 2018, but was booted from power in April 2022 by a no-confidence vote.

He then waged a risky and unprecedented campaign of defiance, but when his supporters trashed an army commander's HQ last May after his first arrest, it was the final straw.

 

[ghazi]

No home, no vote: Flood victims far removed from polling process​

RAZZAK ABRO

Displaced affectees with missing CNIC’s will be unable to cast their votes in the upcoming elections

 

[ghazi]

Democratic exercise : Election day turnout in K-P may dwindle​

AIHTESHAM KHAN

Terrorism threat, cold weather, and crackdown on PTI will discourage voters from showing up

 

[ghazi]

2 militants killed in North Waziristan IBO: ISPR​

Iftikhar Shirazi
February 6, 2024

Two terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Tuesday.

According to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted an IBO last night on the reported presence of terrorists.

“During the conduct of operation, intense fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists, as a result of which two terrorists were sent to hell, including terrorist ring leader Ayubullah Mansoor,” the ISPR said.

It added that weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the militants who “remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities, including targeted killing as well as extortion and abduction of innocent civilians”.

 

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Petition in IHC seeks action against political parties for failing to allocate 5pc tickets to women​

A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking action against political parties for failing to ensure allocation of five per cent tickets to women candidates on general seats under the provisions of Section 206 of the Elections Act, 2017.

As per the petition filed by Aurat Foundation, it was revealed that only PML-N and MQM-P allocated over 5pc of their tickets to women for 266 National Assembly seats, while other political parties failed to meet this requirement.


Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC has issued notice to the ECP, seeking its response by tomorrow (Feb 7).

 

[ghazi]

143,156 policemen, volunteers to be deployed for election security in Sindh​

Sindh police have prepared a contingency plan for the forthcoming general election on Feb 8 under which 143,156 police personnel and volunteers would be deployed for the security of all polling stations, buildings, polling material etc. across the province.

According to a report submitted to the IGP Sindh Riffat Mukhtar Raja, there are a total of 14,052 polling buildings and 19,008 polling stations categorised as the most sensitive, sensitive and normal.

The report said there were a total of 6,801 most sensitive, 6,550 sensitive and 5,657 normal polling stations.

Out of a total of 143,156 policemen/volunteers, 95,400 would be deployed for security of polling stations, 10,648 personnel would be part of the “quick response force” while 37,108 would be volunteers/private security guards who would perform security duty.