The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has started printing of postal ballot papers in its preparation for the general election. The election commission will print 10,26,000 postal ballots for the National Assembly and 4,45,500 postal ballot papers for Punjab Assembly. The electoral body will print 1,95,000 postal ballots for Sindh Assembly, 1,72,500 ballots for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 76,500 ballot papers for Balochistan Assembly. It is to be mentioned here that postal ballots will also be printed for the Pakistan Army troops deployed at national borders and for the government officials posted away from their residential areas. The federal government has allocated Rs 42.4 billion for general elections in budget for fiscal year 2023-24. The government has allocated Rs 15 billion for the security of general elections and Rs 5.6 billion for project management units and voting.

In budget 2023-24, Rs 4.8 billion and Rs 270 million have been allocated for publishing ballet papers and voter lists whereas Rs 1.7 billion will be spent on the training wing and Rs 500 million on media coordination. The funds allocated for the preparation of the election are Rs 1.2 billion. The government has allocated Rs 9.6 billion for election in Punjab, Rs 3.6 billion for Sindh, Rs 3.9 billion for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Rs 1.1 billion for Balochistan. The ECP had asked for an allocation of Rs 54 billion for general elections, but the government allocated Rs47 billion.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP