Polls postponed on three K-P seats

The Election Commission of Pakistan has stopped the elections in one National Assembly and two provincial assembly constituencies of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa due to the deaths of the candidates.

According to a notification issued by the ECP on Friday, the elections will not be held in NA-8 Bajaur, PK-22 Bajaur and PK-91 Kohat on Feb 8.

It stated that the elections’ schedule in the three constituencies would be released later without specifying a definite date.
It added that the candidates in all three constituencies would submit nomination papers again.

Meanwhile, as only a few days are left for the Feb 8 general elections, the ECP announced the successful completion of the printing of ballot papers for all constituencies.

In a briefing on the process, Director General Political Finance Masood Akhtar Sherwani emphasised the sensitivity of paper and printing in ensuring the voters' rights.

"Our goal is to bring the voters’ right closer to them. The printing of ballot papers commenced on January 14 and concluded today," he declared.

Over 260 million ballot papers were produced, distinguished by colours – green for the National Assembly and white for provincial assemblies.

The entire process took place across three printing presses, each subject to special security arrangements.

The distribution of printed ballot papers includes 5% single-column, 50% double-column, 30% three-column, 11.15% four-column and 2.4% five-column formats.

Further, Form-45 is also being printed and dispatched alongside the ballot papers.

He said that the total number of candidates in the 2024 election surged by 54.74% as compared to the 2018 figures, leading to a 194.75% increase in the requirement for special papers.

To curb wastage during printing, the size of the ballot papers has been reduced, decreasing the demand for special paper from 2,400 tonnes to 2,170 tonnes.

The DG political finance acknowledged that 49 cases related to the election process had been presented in the Supreme Court, while ballot papers for 16 constituencies had been reprinted as per the court's directives.

Moreover, ballot papers for constituencies in Balochistan had also been successfully delivered.

In response to security concerns and challenging weather conditions in certain regions, he said air shipments had been employed to ensure a secure and efficient delivery process.

The delivery of ballot papers for all districts, excluding 33 districts, he said, had been completed.