Election 2024 cost Rs33.48b, says report

Turnout remained 47.65%, 376 election petitions filed

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released its comprehensive report on the General Elections 2024, revealing that more than half of eligible voters did not cast their ballots.

The report, issued in two parts, details both pre-election and election-day measures, as well as post-election results and analysis. It said that out of 128,585,763 registered voters, only 61,276,254 exercised their right to vote, resulting in a turnout of 47.65%.

The report incorporates observations from domestic and international election monitors. According to the findings, the elections cost a total of Rs33.48 billion, with expenditures spread across two fiscal years.

The report also explains why timely elections could not be held for the Punjab Provincial Assembly. Delays were attributed to lack of funds, security concerns, unavailability of polling dates, pending judicial decisions, ongoing court cases, and delays in the national census.

Political parties were affected in several ways. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), for instance, was deprived of its election symbol due to failure to conduct intra-party elections despite repeated notices and opportunities provided by the ECP, the report says.

At the time of the elections, it says, 166 political parties were registered. Following the seventh national census, the ECP carried out fresh delimitation of 266 national and 593 provincial assembly constituencies.

Due to the non-availability of judicial officers, returning officers were appointed through administrative channels. Despite repeated contacts, high courts and the Supreme Court did not provide judicial officers.

Across the country, 859 returning officers and 144 district returning officers were deployed. Each returning officer was assigned data entry operators and 2,843 laptops for election management purposes.

The report states that a total of 90,675 polling stations were established, 5,585 more than in the 2018 elections, alongside 276,402 polling booths nationwide. Over one million election staff members were deployed in addition to security personnel.

For national and provincial assembly seats, 22,855 candidates submitted nomination papers. After objections and appeals, over 18,000 candidates remained in the race. Four constituencies could not hold elections due to the death of candidates. The ECP allocated election symbols to 150 political parties and issued 269,113 postal ballot papers.

Election allowances were also detailed: district returning officers received Rs100,000 each, returning officers Rs75,000, assistant returning officers and data entry operators Rs50,000, presiding officers Rs6,000, and assistant presiding and polling officers Rs4,500 per person.

Due to the large number of candidates, additional ballot paper was required, and reducing the size of ballots reportedly saved Rs1.4 billion.

A total of 376 election petitions were filed in tribunals, with Punjab recording the highest number at 198 petitions. Internet and mobile service suspensions caused delays in receiving results via the Election Management System (EMS), though the first results were received two hours earlier than in the previous elections.