Punjab poll expenditure set at Rs4.59b

The total estimated expenditure for the upcoming national elections scheduled for February 8, 2024, covering 40 districts of Punjab, including Islamabad, is set at Rs4.59 billion.

Among the districts, the election budget for the three seats of the federal capital is Rs83.35 million, and for the six districts comprising the Rawalpindi division, it stands at Rs225.3 million. The breakdown for individual districts includes Rs25.82 million for Murree, Rs98.87 million for Attock, Rs48.32 million for Chakwal, Rs47.89 million for Talagang, and Rs720.7 million for Jhelum.

During the election process, presiding officers will receive an honorarium of Rs2,000 per day for three days, along with an additional Rs1,000 for mobile phone expenses. Assistant presiding officers and polling officers will be granted Rs1,500 per day, while office attendants are entitled to a total payment of Rs2,000. Similarly, the district monitoring officer will receive Rs80,000.

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In total, the election honorarium for polling staff, polling officers, and presiding officers in the districts, including Rawalpindi, amounts to Rs139.8 million. Similarly, polling officers in Islamabad will receive Rs53.25 million, Murree district officers Rs17.78 million, Attock district officers Rs60.4 million, Chakwal district officers Rs32.59 million, Talagang district officers Rs33.05 million, and Jhelum district polling staff a total of Rs45.29 million.

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In terms of staffing, Rawalpindi district has one district returning officer, 19 returning officers, 2,687 presiding officers, 17,128 assistant presiding officers, 8,564 polling officers, and 2,687 office attendants. The Islamabad district has one district returning officer, three returning officers, 1,040 presiding officers, 6,502 assistant presiding officers, 3,251 polling officers, and 1,040 office attendants.

Murree district is assigned two district returning officers, two returning officers, 223 presiding officers, 2,336 assistant returning officers, 1,168 polling officers, and 223 office attendants.

Attock district has one district returning officer, seven returning officers.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2024.