Pakistan Election Commission ready for Feb 8 Polls with EMS setup

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) concluded setting up the Election Management System (EMS) and election monitoring on Monday, ARY News reported.

The general elections are set for February 8, and the campaigning of political parties in Pakistan is taking place in full swing.

Syed Asif Hussain, the secretary of the election commission, revealed to ARY News in an exclusive interview that 3,600 people have received training to operate the EMS system and that 3,000 computers have been set up for the EMS.

The ECP secretary claimed that the problems that arose during the EMS trials had been fixed and that a private network had been set up for the systems so they could function even without internet access, according to ARY News.

Meanwhile, in a different interview, Director-General Information Technology (DG-IT) Khizar Hayat reaffirmed that the EMS has been utilized in 40 elections and that its technology has been improved to guarantee seamless operations during the polls.

Khizr Hayat went on to say that the Returning Officer (RO) will receive the results from the Presiding Officer (PO) by EMS, and in the event of a problem, the PO will deliver the findings to the RO in person.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also completed the printing of 260 million ballot papers for all constituencies in the country ahead of the February 8 general elections.

As per an ECP spokesperson, "National Assembly ballots are identifiable by green paper, whereas Provincial Assembly ballots are printed on white paper. Except for 31 districts, the distribution of printed ballot papers has been finalised across the nation."

The printing process, which commenced on January 14, concluded on February 3. In compliance with a Supreme Court directive, ballot papers for 11 National Assembly and five Provincial Assembly constituencies underwent reprinting, with the original ones set for destruction as per the court order.

As per ECP officials, this time, a total of 260 million ballot papers got printed, reflecting a 54.74 per cent rise in candidates compared to the 2018 elections. Despite a 195 per cent surge in demand for special paper, effective management led to a reduction from 2400 tonnes to 2177 tonnes.

The distribution of printed ballot papers comprises 5 per cent single-column, 50 per cent double-column, 30 per cent three-column, 11.15 per cent four-column, and 2.4 per cent five-column formats, gearing up for the scheduled February 8 polls, according to ARY News.

Political parties and independent candidates are actively participating in campaigns, with the election drive slated to conclude on February 6 at midnight.