10 day extension for submission of postal ballots: ECP

The poll body extends the deadline to April 25.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has extended the deadline for the submission of applications for postal ballots to April 25, Express News reported on Friday.

The ECP provided an extension of ten days.

Earlier, the ECP had announced April 15 as the last date for receipt of applications for postal ballots for general elections to the national assembly and the provincial assemblies.

The elector was required to sign the declaration in the application form in the presence of a gazetted officer or a commissioned officer who knows the voter personally or has ascertained the identification, in order to ensure transparency.

The voters to whom postal ballots are issued will not be entitled to vote in person at the polling stations.

The ECP regulations state that the application for postal ballot should be submitted to the returning officer of the constituency in which the voter is enrolled, however, the forms can be obtained from any returning officer.

The facility was extended only to the persons in government service, members of armed forces, holders of public offices, their wives and their children as are registered voters and ordinarily reside with them provided they are stationed at a place other than the place in which their home constituency is situated.