ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released constituency-wise preliminary lists of polling stations, state-run media said on Sunday, as millions of Pakistanis gear up to turn to the ballot box next month to elect their representatives.
General elections, which were originally supposed to be held in November 2023, were delayed after the government of former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to hold the upcoming polls based on the results of a fresh population census conducted last year. The caretaker administration has said polls would now be held on February 8.
“Returning officers in line with the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan have published the constituency-wise preliminary lists of polling stations,” the state-run Radio Pakistan said in a post on its website.
“Candidates and voters have the opportunity to submit their suggestions or objections regarding polling stations to the District Returning Officers until Thursday.”
It said that district returning officers would declare their decisions on these objections or suggestions from January 12-17.
“Final list of polling stations will be revealed 15 days before the elections,” the state-run media added.
The ECP said on Thursday it had completed training a staff of over half a million personnel for election duties, while training for the remaining 406,222 staffers would be completed by February 1, 2024.
A caretaker government under interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar is running the country until the national election is held on February 8.
The caretaker prime minister and his cabinet members have repeatedly assured the nation that polls would be held on time, despite speculation that the exercise would be delayed further.
