F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Tuesday (today) is the final curtain call for candidates across Pakistan as election campaign for the general elections to be held across the country on February 8 concludes at midnight.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has maintained that the time between February 6 until 7 will be a pre-poll silence period, strictly prohibiting campaigning activities like rallies, public meetings, and media appearances. This silent period is intended to provide voters with a space for reflection before they cast their votes on Thursday.
Despite the approaching deadline, the political temperature remains high across the country. Candidates are expected to utilize the remaining hours to hold final rallies, address public gatherings, and engage in door-to-door campaigning.
The social media is also buzzing with intense online campaigns as parties and candidates make their final appeals.
According to the spokesman for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), all arrangements are complete as the election commission is done with the supply of all election-related material. “As many as 260 million ballot papers have been handed over to the returning officers besides ballot boxes and other material,” he has added.
The spokesman has informed that the time for the election campaign will be over today at 12:00 midnight, and that any political party holding a corner meeting or a rally after that time will face action.
“Production of original computerized national identity cards (CNICs) is necessary to cast votes,” the spokesman has said, adding, “However, people will also be able to cast their votes on the basis of expired CNICs.”
A comprehensive plan has been devised to ensure security during polling.
Police personnel will be on the front, while the contingents of Pakistan Rangers will also be on their toes to back them up.
And in the event of deterioration of law and order situation, Pakistan Army will swing into action.
A monitoring room has been set up and cameras have been installed to monitor the polling live.
17,816 candidates in election race
A total of 5121 candidates are in the race for the National Assembly seats. These include 4807 male, 312 female and two transgender.
For the four provincial assemblies, 12695 candidates are in the field including 12123 male, 570 women and two transgender.
There are a total of 128,585,760 registered voters in the country.
Punjab has the most number of 73, 207,896 registered voters followed by Sindh with 26,994,769, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 21,928,119, Balochistan with 5,371,947 and Federal Capital Islamabad 1,083,029.
Lacklustre election
Politicians hit the campaign trail for the last time ahead of a general election that observers say has left the nation of 240 million at its most discouraged in years.
With former prime minister Imran Khan in jail and his party barred from contesting as a bloc, the field is open for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to win the most seats and give a fourth term as premier to its founder, Nawaz Sharif.
Candidates loyal to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) could still prove a decisive factor — as well as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — but a generally lacklustre campaign season, as well as voter apathy, suggest a low turnout on Thursday.
“The political atmosphere ahead of Pakistan’s first general election since 2018 is equally as glum as the economic one,” the polling agency Gallup said.
“Seven in 10 Pakistanis lack confidence in the honesty of their elections. While this ties previous highs, it nevertheless represents a significant regression in recent years.”
Candidates must end all canvassing on Tuesday night, before polls open Thursday for more than 120 million registered voters to take part in an election rights activists have called deeply flawed.
Looming large over the vote — despite being barred from taking part — is former international cricketer Khan, who was handed three lengthy prison sentences last week for treason, graft and a marriage that did not meet Islamic law requirements.
– Fresh Khan trial –
He faced a fresh trial starting Tuesday, this time in an anti-terrorism court, over riots led by his supporters last year.
The election comes against the backdrop of an economy in dire straits and a significant rise in militancy.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank, said there had been a “staggering” rise in militant attacks in the past year with an average of 54 per month — the most since 2015, when the army launched a massive crackdown on militant groups.
At least 10 officers were killed on Monday when militants attacked a police station near the Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Officials said Tuesday that nearly half of 90,000 polling stations had been declared “sensitive” or “highly sensitive” and extra security would be deployed. “To counter these risks, we have devised a three-tier protection plan. The police constitute the first tier, followed by the civil armed forces, and (then) the armed forces,” caretaker Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz told a news briefing.
Inflation is galloping at nearly 30 percent, the rupee has been in free fall for three years and a balance of payments deficit has frozen imports, severely hampering industrial growth.
“Pakistanis are more discouraged than they have been in decades about a multitude of economic, political and security challenges that are threatening their country’s stability,” Gallup said its poll findings revealed.
“Last year, just one in four approved of Pakistan’s leadership.”
PPP to hold power show at Larkana
Strict security arrangements have been made in and around the Municipal Stadium Larkana as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), on the last day of electioneering, will hold a power show there today.
Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, his sister Aseefa Bhutto Zardari and other leaders will address the gathering.
Courtesy: (24News)
