ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan has launched an analytical report on the local government elections held in all four provinces, cantonment boards and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Around Rs 6.25 billion were spent as expenditures and turnout of voters was recorded at 46.52 percent in LG polls, said ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad while addressing a press conference here on Friday.
As many as 262,683 candidates participated in the LG elections across the country, he said and added that the number of registered voters in country was around 90 million.
The exercise ended successfully in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, cantonment boards and ICT by formation of the local governments.
“As far as Punjab and Sindh provinces are concerned, the elections for direct slots in all the tiers are held through adult franchise, however, schedules for elections of the reserved/indirect slots have been hit by litigation, delaying formation of the governments in these two provinces,” the secretary said.
He said the activity involved hectic exercise of delimitation of the constituencies; registration/revision of electoral rolls, comprehensive voter education campaign covering around 90 million voters, establishment of 75,062 polling stations, deployment of 708,875 polling staff, their training and above all security arrangements ensuring conducive environment for the elections.
Babar said that the ECP held almost 30 consultative sessions with domestic and international stakeholders, political parties, civil society organisations, media, observers groups and technology experts.
The ECP also carried out multiple exercises introducing technology in the electoral process in view extension of services to overseas voters and reforms in the result management system, he added.
For the first time, the commission, he said, conducted local government elections after delimitation of constituencies/wards of the local councils through its own officers.
He said that successful holding of local government elections was acknowledged by all stakeholders and observers. The entire poll process that took place in different phases, times and legal frameworks, can be termed as satisfactory despite diversified challenges, he added. Apart from a few incidents, the entire poll process largely remained peaceful, he said.
“The report will help us assess our strengths and weaknesses and contribute towards improvement in electoral processes paving way for more transparent and credible elections in future. It will also be beneficial for researchers, students and all interested individuals and bodies operating on the subject,” he maintained.
The local government elections were first held in Balochistan in 2013, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Cantonment Boards and the ICT in 2015.
“The role of law enforcement agencies was equally positive. They demonstrated exemplary national spirit in assisting ECP to complete the assignment. Pakistan Army rendered full cooperation in all phases of the event despite their pre-occupation on internal and external fronts,” the secretary remarked.
The secretary thanked political parties, candidates, media, observers and all stakeholders, who cooperated with the ECP during the event.
The ECP secretary said that the role of political parties, candidates and their workers was instrumental in preventing violence during campaign period, on the poll and during the post-poll period. They must be appreciated for their mature political role throughout the poll process, he added.
