Majority of voters fall in 26-35 age group, ECP report reveals

Election watchdog says number of registered voters in the country have reached over 126 million

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday released the percentage of voters in terms of age, according to which, the highest number of voters remained within the age group of 26 to 35 years.

The ECP issued a report that also revealed the number of registered voters in the country had reached over 126 million, as of June 30, 2023. According to the report, the ratio of male and female voters in Pakistan stood at 54.02 per cent and 45.98 per cent respectively.

The total number of registered voters in Islamabad was over one million while Punjab topped with 71.60 million voters. The number of registered voters in Balochistan is over 5.27 million of which 2.96 million are male and 2.31 million are female.

The number of registered voters in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is over 21.62 million of which 11.79 million are male while 9.82 million are female.

Read more: ECP gets ready for timely elections

In Punjab, the largest province of the country population-wise, the number of registered voters is 71.60 million, of which 38.41 million are men and 33.19 million are women.

Similarly, the number of registered voters in Sindh is 26.52 million, of which 14.38 million are male and 12.14 million are female.

The ECP statement came on the heels of reports that there would be no extension in the term of the National Assembly; rather the national and two provincial legislatures might be dissolved a few days before the end of their term to give an additional 30 days to political parties to run their election campaigns.

During their meeting last month in Dubai, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had also allegedly discussed the issue of the date for the next general elections and possible seat adjustments.

The reports claimed that the top leaders also discussed the names of the caretaker PM, with some media reports, citing anonymous sources, claiming that both had even reached an agreement on a name.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, addressing ceremonies in Lahore and Sialkot, said that the coalition government would complete its tenure next month but it would hand over power to an interim set-up early.

“I am not saying that you should vote for [PML-N Quaid] Nawaz Sharif or me,” the prime minister was quoted as saying. “I am only asking that you take into consideration the evidence-based image and testimonials before you as well as the destruction brought on the country during the last four years [PTI regime’s term],” he continued.