Category: Media Coverage

PESHAWAR: More than 70,000 police and security personnel will be deployed at 12,685 polling stations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure peaceful elections today (Wednesday). DIG (operations) of the provincial police Mohammad Ali Babakhel told reporters at the Central Police Office here that the police had finalised arrangements for peaceful election across the province. He said 3,174 polling stations had been declared the most sensitive and 4,539 sensitive in the province. The DIG said a central control room had been set up at the CPO, which was linked with the offices of the regional and district police officers. He said if trouble was reported at polling stations, the control room would alert the nearby police mobile for action. Mr Babakhel said the police would deploy two scanner vehicles for surveillance in…

ISLAMABAD: As the nation goes to polls today (on Wednesday), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is optimistic about a record turnout of voters. “We expect to see a record turnout of voters due to the increased level of awareness about importance of vote,” ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad said at a media briefing a day before the elections. Though he did not present the estimated turnout, his optimism meant it is expected to be greater than 55 per cent turnout of the 2013 general elections, including valid and non-valid votes. The 2013 turnout was the highest in the federal capital territory (62.29 pc), followed by Punjab (58.38 pc), Sindh (51.58 pc), Khyber Pakhtun­khwa (44.64 pc) and Balochistan (38.97 pc). Read: Nation’s tryst with destiny today The ECP secretary…

Millions of registered voters are flocking to polling stations across the country to cast their vote in Pakistan’s 11th general election. According to DawnNewsTV, the first vote has already been cast — in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Charsadda. From left to right: Imran Khan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Shahbaz Sharif The battle is set to come down to three parties: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). While polling stations officially opened for voting at 8am, enthusiastic citizens queued up outside their respective stations as early as 7am. PML-N Chief Shahbaz Sharif was among the first people to cast his vote, according to DawnNewsTV. Speaking to the media outside the polling station in Model Town, Lahore, he requested that people come out and vote for PML-N. Election 101:…

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday rejected Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Shaikh Rashid's plea for going ahead with the polls in NA-60 after they were deferred by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after a special court disqualified a candidate, PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi, in the ephedrine case. The top court validated the Lahore High Court's (LHC) verdict to upheld the ECP's decision, on the basis that it is practically impossible to hold elections in NA-60 on Wednesday, July 25. According to the ECP, it would take a lot of time to print new ballot papers for the 700,000 voters residing in the constituency. Abbasi was disqualified just three days ahead of the general elections. At the time of his conviction, all preparations for the polls, including printing of…

ISLAMABAD: The nation Wednesday will elect 270 members of the National Assembly and a total of 570 members of four provincial assemblies for the next five-year term (2018-2023). Around 105.95 million eligible voters - 59.22 million males and 46.73 million females - will exercise their right to vote to mark another democratic transition from one elected government to another. About 1,1673 candidates are vying for 270 national and 570 provincial seats. Elections have been postponed on two NA and six provincial seats, while one candidate has been declared winner unopposed on a provincial seat. Elections have been postponed in NA-60 owing to disqualification of PML-N candidate Hanif Abbasi. Polls have also been postponed in NA-103 over death of independent candidate Mirza Muhammad Ahmed Mughal. Election on six provincial constituencies including…

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed the media to avoid airing any unofficial result for at least one hour after the voting process is over at polling stations. In its code of conduct for coverage at the polling station and announcement of results, the ECP has asked broadcasters to refrain from airing any final formal, definite election result. “The broadcasters will air only with a clear disclaimer that they are unofficial, incomplete and fractional results which should not be taken as a final result until the election commission has announced the final result,” it added. Only accredited media persons will be allowed to enter a polling station along with the camera for making footage of the voting process or counting process only for on-time. However, they cannot…

While the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rejoices in retaining its seat in Chakwal, a report on accessibility to polling stations should attract the attention of the winning candidate if he wants a better turnout in the general elections later this year. An accessibility audit report for polling stations in PP-20 Chakwal-I, issued by the Pakistan Alliance for Inclusive Elections (PAIE), found that only 16 per cent of polling stations met the accessibility criteria, set as per internationally essential accessibility criterions. The criterions consider whether the surface of the pathways is obstacle free, levelled access to the entrance, wide pathways and corridors, availability of ramps in polling stations, availability of light in polling stations and presence of protruding objects among others.  The audit report notes that 84 per cent of the…

LAKKI MARWAT: Pakistan Alliance for Inclusive Elections (PAIE) has expressed a dire need to make Pakistan’s electoral processes more inclusive and accessible for persons with disabilities. This was shared on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities celebrated at Centre for peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI). In a statement issued by CPDI on Wednesday the senior program officer Fatmia Shah said that the United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3 proclaimed annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons in 1992. “It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and to increase awareness about situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of life”, she said, adding that with Pakistan heading close to general elections it is high time…

As the Election Commission of Pakistan took steps to bring women into the electoral fold with a special campaign to register them as voters, one group has called on the apex polling body to also strive to make the electoral process inclusive for the differently abled. Japan, UNDP team up to strengthen Pakistan’s electoral process The Pakistan Alliance for Inclusive Elections (PAIE) and the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), in a statement issued on Tuesday, said that there was no reason that this segment of the society should be left behind in exercising their democratic rights.   Fatima Shah, a senior programme officer at CPDI, said that with the country close to another general election, it was time to focus on all facets of the electoral processes. “We…

The recent experience of conducting exit polls in the by-elections for two National Assembly constituencies has yielded encouraging results, giving hope that the trend would further pick up in the 2018 general elections  Exit polls have become part and parcel of elections in most of the developed countries, as well as in the neighbouring India. Since the late 1960s, when exit polls were first introduced, pollsters — usually private companies or research institutions working for or in collaboration with media groups — have been giving an early indication as to how an election has turned out because, in many cases, the actual result may take hours or even days to count. On the other hand, Pakistan is still grappling with the concept of exit polls though a few concrete steps…