Page 13 - Election

Voting concludes across Pakistan in election marred by sporadic violence

Voting concluded across Pakistan on Thursday in an election marred by sporadic violence and connectivity issues after the government suspended mobile and internet services to foil terror attacks. The polling started at 8.00 AM and continued without any break till 5.00 PM. A countrywide public holiday was declared to enable a total of 128,585,760 registered voters to cast their ballots. The time for voting ended but the people present inside the premises of the polling stations were allowed to cast their votes. There were reports of voting process facing delays at certain polling stations across the country and at least one terror attack on security forces performing election duties that killed four policemen. The ballot boxes would be unsealed in the presence of the agents of various candidates present inside the polling stations, and counting would be done in the supervision of the presiding officer of each polling station. The presiding officer would prepare the result and annou

Govt strongly rejects charges of interference in Canadian elections

India on Thursday strongly rejected as "baseless" allegations of its interference in Canadian elections and asserted that the core issue has been Ottawa's meddling in New Delhi's internal affairs. According to Canadian media reports, Canada's federal commission of inquiry into foreign interference is looking to examine allegations of meddling by India in the last two general elections. "We have seen media reports about the Canadian commission enquiring into ...We strongly reject all such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The Canadian federal commission's terms of reference is primarily to examine the possible interference by China, Russia and other foreign states or non-state actors in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, the CTV News reported. "It is not the government of India's policy to interfere in democratic processes of other countries. In fact, quite on the reverse, it is Canada .

Pak's CEC assures mobile service suspension cannot hamper agency's work

Amid the suspension of mobile services in Pakistan due to the deteriorating security situation, Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Thursday said its Election Management System is not dependent on the Internet and its work will not be affected due to it. Polling for the general elections started at 8.00 am and will continue without any break till 5.00 PM when a total of 128,585,760 registered voters are eligible to cast their votes. Even when the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had earlier said that internet services would remain functional on the voting day, twin terror attacks that killed at least 30 people prompted the caretaker government to suspend the mobile services due to the deteriorating security situation. Speaking with media persons soon after the polling began, CEC Raja told media persons, Our system is not dependent on it (mobile services). Our system is not independent of the Internet, we have clarified it earlier too. There will

'Outdated' Cong cannot question 'Modi's guarantees', says PM in Rajya Sabha

Modi said his government will strive to provide a "Modi kavach", or shield, to empower the people of India, especially the neo-middle class

Economic pessimism hits record in Pakistan ahead of election on Feb 8

Some 70 per cent of Pakistanis said the economic situation around them is getting worse, the highest level in the 18 years that Gallup has been polling them

Interim Budget 2024: 'Prudence has taken precedence over populism'

Backed by robust collections in both direct and indirect taxes and a growing domestic demand, the finance minister asserted a strong commitment to pursuing the path of fiscal consolidation

Imran Khan challenges rejection of his nomination papers for Feb 8 polls

In his plea, Khan urged the apex court to declare him eligible to contest the elections from the two constituencies, Geo News reported

Happy that work underway on 'one nation, one legislative' platform: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he was happy that Parliament and state legislatures were working towards realisation of the goal of 'one nation, one legislative platform'. Addressing the 84th All India Presiding Officers' Conference (AIPOC) here virtually, he also rued that some political parties defend their members even if they violate the rules of the House, and warned that it did not augur well for Parliament and state legislatures. "In 2021, during discussions with you, I spoke about 'one nation, one legislative platform.' I am happy that our Parliament and state legislatures are now working towards this goal through E-Vidhan and Digital Sansad platforms," the prime minister said. Notably, the 'one nation, one legislative platform' project aims at making available the proceedings of all legislatures on a single digital platform. The image of a legislature depends on the conduct of its members, the prime minister stressed. "There was a time when, if any member in

Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' will resume in West Bengal on Sunday

The Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is set to resume on Sunday following a two-day hiatus, with Rahul Gandhi rejoining the programme in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, a senior party leader said. The Yatra, spearheaded by Gandhi, commenced on January 14 from Manipur and traversed into the Coochbehar district of West Bengal from Assam on Thursday morning. After holding a roadshow in Coochbehar on January 25, Gandhi departed for New Delhi as the Yatra underwent a two-day recess. During this interval, the Yatra advanced to Falakata in Alipurduar for a temporary halt. "Rahul Gandhi Ji will arrive at Bagdogra airport at 11:30 am. Subsequently, he will proceed to Jalpaiguri, where the Yatra will recommence. This time, the Yatra will proceed both by bus and on foot, with a night stopover planned near Siliguri on Sunday night," Suvankar Sarkar, a state Congress leader told PTI. On January 29, the Yatra is slated to head towards Islampur in Uttar Dinajpur district before transitioni

LS polls: Election dept begins preparations in Raj with checking of EVMs

With the first level checking of the electronic voting machines, the Election department has started the preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, an official said on Saturday. Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta in a statement said the Election department has started the process of preparations for the Lok Sabha elections in the state with the first level checking (FLC) of the electronic voting machines (EVMs). He said the first level checking of the EVMs is necessary for fair, free and transparent elections. Gupta said that as per the instructions of the Election Commission of India, the first level checking work of EVM/VVPAT machines for the Lok Sabha elections has been started by the engineers of the Bharat Electronics Limited, Bengaluru, from January 27 in all the districts of the state. This work is likely to be completed on February 20, he added. Gupta said this work will be done in the presence of recognised national and state political parties. EV

Lok Sabha polls: BJP appoints election in-charges for 23 states, UTs

The BJP on Saturday appointed election in-charges and co-in-charges for 23 states and Union territories in view of the Lok Sabha polls this year. BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde has been made the election in-charge for Bihar, while BJP Rajya Sabha member and former Jharkhand unit chief Deepak Prakash will be the co-in-charge, according to a party statement. Tawde is the BJP's in-charge for political affairs in Bihar. The BJP has appointed vice president Baijayant Jay Panda as the election in-charge for Uttar Pradesh and national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam as that of Uttarakhand. BJP national vice president and Rajya Sabha member Laxmikant Bajpai will be the election in-charge for Jharkhand, the statement said. The appointments have been made by BJP president J P Nadda in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, it said. BJP Rajya Sabha member and former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has been made the election in-charge for Haryana. BJP leader ..

Pakistan's EC to set up 90,675 polling stations for 128 million voters

Pakistan's election commission has unveiled the final polling scheme for the February 8 polls under which it will set up 90,675 polling stations for the 128 million voters, according to a media report on Saturday. The final polling scheme was announced by the election body, weeks after twice failing to comply with the legal deadline to announce the plan at least 30 days ahead of the election, the Dawn newspaper reported. Section 59 (6) of the Elections Act 2017 requires the publication of the final list of polling stations of each constituency, at least 30 days before polling day, in the official gazette as well as the website of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The plan unveiled by the ECP on Friday outlines the distribution of polling stations across all four provinces and the federal capital, categorising them as normal, sensitive, or highly sensitive based on the security situation and electoral violence history. "A total of 90,675 polling stations with 276,402 pollin

Donald Trump races toward 2024 Biden rematch after New Hampshire win

The back-to-back wins put Trump on track to deliver a knockout blow to Haley next month in her home state of South Carolina and turn his attention to all-but-certain rematch with President Joe Biden

Pakistan's top poll body to challenge HC's remarks on poll symbol case

Pakistan's top election body has decided to file an application in the Lahore High Court seeking to expunge the court's remarks against it in the verdict in connection with the election symbol case, a media report said on Saturday. Pakistan is to hold general elections on February 8. A five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued the order after conducting a hearing (on the matter) and reviewing the Lahore High Court (LHC) order of January 17, The News International newspaper reported. Calling it as an unusual move, the newspaper said, The ECP has decided to file a civil miscellaneous application in the LHC to expunge the court's remarks against the commission in the verdict on the election symbol case. Earlier, the Bahawalpur bench of the LHC, in response to writ petitions seeking a change of poll symbols, had criticised the election commission and a returning officer for violating the law and not performing their duties accordingly. The court had issued

Trust in elections remains fairly robust in India: DPIIT Secretary Singh

Describing India as an outlier in terms of trust levels in various institutions, DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Friday said trust in elections and other institutions continues to remain robust in the country. Speaking here at a session on '4.2 billion people at the ballot box' at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, Singh said the election is a mammoth exercise in India and follows a very detailed procedure-based system. "We have delivered credible elections for over 75 years, of which 25 years have been through electronic voting machines," he said, adding that he himself has been involved in the election process in various roles earlier in his career as a civil servant. Asked about the issues before this year's election, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary said bread and butter issues and development would be among key factors like any other country, while the performance of the present government in the last ten years would

Congress should focus on livelihood issues: DesignBoxed's Naresh Arora

Naresh Arora unveils how his team introduced the term "guarantees" to India's political lexicon, sheds light on the shifting voter behaviour

Maldives' pro-India oppn MDP secures landslide victory in Male Mayoral poll

In a setback to Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, pro-India opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Saturday secured a landslide victory in the capital Male's Mayoral election. The MDP candidate, Adam Azim, has been elected as the new mayor of Male, a post held by Muizzu till recently. Muizzu resigned from the position to contest the presidential elections last year. The Maldives media reported Azim's win as a landslide and victory by a large margin. The MDP is headed by pro-India former president Mohammad Solih, who was defeated by Muizzu, a pro-China leader, in the presidential elections. With 41 boxes counted, Azim has taken a huge lead with 5,303 votes. His rival Aishath Azima Shakoor of Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC) got 3,301 votes, Maldives' Sun Online news portal reported. The poll was marked by a low turnout, according to reports. The Mayoral election victory is expected to revive the political fortunes of the MDP, which still holds a majority in the .

Taiwan tracks 8 Chinese military aircraft, 6 naval ships on election day

Taiwan, in response, sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the PLA activity

With 40% votes DPP candidate Lai Ching-te wins Taiwan's presidential polls

This marks the historic third-straight victory for the DPP after Tsai Ing-wena completed her two terms as Taiwan President since 2016

Flunking the temple test

Could the Congress not have joined the Ram temple celebrations while also criticising Modi, BJP, RSS?