ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has initiated the postal ballot process for eligible individuals to get ballot papers for the general elections of both national and provincial assemblies and set a deadline of January 22 to submit applications, the election oversight body said on Saturday. 

The provision is specifically tailored for government officials, armed forces personnel, and individuals in public offices as well as their spouses and children, who reside away from their constituencies, to vote ahead of the polling day. 

The eligibility criteria also encompass individuals in detention and those with physical disabilities, provided they hold a computerized national identity card (CNIC) with a disability logo issued by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). 

“The election commission has fixed the last date for receipt of applications for postal ballot papers for general elections to the national, and provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan as 22nd January 2024,” the ECP told Arab News in a statement. 

The regulator urged individuals appointed by the returning officers, such as police personnel and polling staff assigned to various polling stations, to submit their postal ballot applications within three days of their appointment. 

The ECP said the application for a postal ballot should be made on the prescribed form which can be obtained from the concerned returning officer or may also be downloaded from the commission’s website. 

“The voters to whom postal ballots are issued will not be entitled to vote in person at the polling stations,” the statement added. 

However, the application should be forwarded or endorsed by the office of the voter to guard against unauthorized persons applying for postal ballot, according to the ECP. 

Upon receiving an application from a voter, the returning officer is required to send a ballot paper and an envelope to the voter by post, according to the Elections Act 2017. 

The envelope should include a form of certificate of posting on its face, indicating the posting date, to be filled in by the relevant post office official when the voter sends it. 

Upon receiving their postal ballot, the act says, a voter shall record their vote as prescribed. After recording, they should post the ballot paper to the returning officer in the provided envelope, ensuring it reaches before the consolidation of the results.