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ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan slowly progresses towards general elections, the country’s highest electoral body announced on Thursday that it is ready to hold elections within the stipulated constitutional period.
National Assembly, House of Representatives Parliamentwill complete its five-year term on August 12 and dissolve, making it mandatory to organize elections within the next 60 days.
However, if it is resolved before the term expires, the election must be held within 90 days.
Senior officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), including the Secretary ECP Omar Hamid KhanSpecial Secretary Zafar Iqbal and others briefed the media on preparations for the elections.
The special secretary said the ECP was ready to “hold elections by October 11 if the National Assembly is dissolved on August 12,” adding that it would hold elections within 90 days if the Assembly was dissolved earlier.
He said that strict monitoring of political parties and candidates will be conducted to get them to abide by the rules, especially those related to expenditures during the upcoming general elections.
“Any party or candidate who exceeds the electoral spending limit will face legal action. We have set up a system to monitor financial matters,” he said.
However, there is still confusion as to whether the coalition government will allow the council to complete its term or dissolve it to get more time for elections.
According to some reports, the PML-N and PPP agreed to dissolve the assembly on August 8, but there is no clarity on that as the government still insists on completing the period.
However, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has made it clear that the government will be handed over to a caretaker government in August to oversee the elections.
Meanwhile, the government announced that the elections will be held on the basis of the old census conducted in 2017, despite the demand of some political parties to conduct the poll on the basis of the new digital census conducted earlier this year.
Young voters under the age of 35 are also expected to make up 45 percent of eligible voters and are set to play a crucial role in the upcoming general elections, according to statistics obtained from ECP.
The number of registered voters in the country is more than 126 million, including 60.8 million male and 50.7 million female voters.
More than 20.35 million voters are between the ages of 18 and 25, 30.26 million are between the ages of 26 and 35, and 20.77 million are between the ages of 36 and 45.
The ratio of male and female voters in Pakistan was 54.02 percent and 45.98 percent, respectively, according to the report.
National Assembly, House of Representatives Parliamentwill complete its five-year term on August 12 and dissolve, making it mandatory to organize elections within the next 60 days.
However, if it is resolved before the term expires, the election must be held within 90 days.
Senior officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), including the Secretary ECP Omar Hamid KhanSpecial Secretary Zafar Iqbal and others briefed the media on preparations for the elections.
The special secretary said the ECP was ready to “hold elections by October 11 if the National Assembly is dissolved on August 12,” adding that it would hold elections within 90 days if the Assembly was dissolved earlier.
He said that strict monitoring of political parties and candidates will be conducted to get them to abide by the rules, especially those related to expenditures during the upcoming general elections.
“Any party or candidate who exceeds the electoral spending limit will face legal action. We have set up a system to monitor financial matters,” he said.
However, there is still confusion as to whether the coalition government will allow the council to complete its term or dissolve it to get more time for elections.
According to some reports, the PML-N and PPP agreed to dissolve the assembly on August 8, but there is no clarity on that as the government still insists on completing the period.
However, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has made it clear that the government will be handed over to a caretaker government in August to oversee the elections.
Meanwhile, the government announced that the elections will be held on the basis of the old census conducted in 2017, despite the demand of some political parties to conduct the poll on the basis of the new digital census conducted earlier this year.
Young voters under the age of 35 are also expected to make up 45 percent of eligible voters and are set to play a crucial role in the upcoming general elections, according to statistics obtained from ECP.
The number of registered voters in the country is more than 126 million, including 60.8 million male and 50.7 million female voters.
More than 20.35 million voters are between the ages of 18 and 25, 30.26 million are between the ages of 26 and 35, and 20.77 million are between the ages of 36 and 45.
The ratio of male and female voters in Pakistan was 54.02 percent and 45.98 percent, respectively, according to the report.
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