Commonwealth Observers Group chief hails ECP’s election preparations

ISLAMABAD (APP): On Monday, the Commonwealth Observers Group, led by former Nigerian President Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, held a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The meeting was attended by members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the secretary, and other senior officers.

CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja warmly welcomed the members of the Commonwealth Observers Group and expressed gratitude for their presence in Pakistan.

He commended the Commonwealth Secretariat for sending a 15-member observer group along with a nine-member support team to Pakistan to monitor the general elections on February 8.

The CEC informed them about the Election Commission’s policy of openness towards international observers and emphasized that Pakistan had issued accreditation cards to over a hundred international observers in order to ensure transparency in the electoral process.

The CEC provided the Commonwealth Observers Group with a briefing on the election preparations, highlighting the dedicated efforts made by the election commission to ensure that the elections are free, fair, and transparent.

The Commonwealth Observers Group praised Pakistan’s commitment to holding peaceful and successful elections.

Dr Jonathan, as the Chairman of the Commonwealth Observers Group, expressed appreciation for the thorough preparations of the election commission and extended gratitude for facilitating the group’s visit to Pakistan.

ECP successfully completes task of delivering 260 million ballot papers to district returning officers (DROs).

Meanwhile, the ECP has successfully completed the task of delivering 260 million ballot papers to the DROs for the elections scheduled for February 8.

An ECP spokesperson, in a statement on Monday, attributed the timely completion of this crucial responsibility to the dedicated efforts and organized planning of the Commission’s staff.

“The dispatching process involved both ground and aerial means, ensuring efficient and swift distribution of the ballot papers,” he said.

The spokesperson confirmed that all the ballot papers were handed over to the respective DROs and their representatives.

“Despite facing challenges posed by adverse weather conditions, the ECP staff exhibited

ECP dismisses baseless social media reports about postal ballots

Meanwhile, the ECP has categorically refuted the reports circulating on social media regarding the number of postal ballots cast by jail inmates in favour of different candidates. In an official news release, the ECP clarified that during the consolidation process, returning officers open and count postal ballots in the presence of candidates and their polling agents in their respective constituencies. The ECP has urged the public to disregard and not be influenced by such misleading news.

ECP set ups control room to monitors poll process
Meanwhile, the ECP has set up an advanced control room to monitor the general election.
The control room will use WhatsApp, email and phone to receive and address complaints from citizens across the country, according to the Additional Director General (DG) Haroon Shinwari.
Shinwari said that the ECP has also established four provincial and 32 regional control rooms, and deployed 144 teams at the district level.
He said that the ECP has issued notices to 625 individuals, including 252 candidates, and fined 156 of them for violating the code of conduct since December 26. He said that the ECP has also removed 12,236 wall chalking, and resolved 198 out of 221 complaints.
He said that the ECP has notified the chief secretaries and IGs of police in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about the complaints and incidents in their provinces. He said that the ECP will conduct strict monitoring at the district, provincial and central levels on the election day.
He said that the Electronic Management System (EMS) has been upgraded and tested, and it will allow the presiding officers to transmit results to the returning officers securely. He said that the EMS has been used in 40 previous elections and is expected to perform well in the upcoming election.