GE 2024
11,668 CCTV cameras are required for the monitoring of polling stations in the province: cabinet briefing
JAVED KHAN
PESHAWAR
As many as 4812 polling stations have been declared most sensitive, 6581 declared sensitive and 1919 characterized as snowbound polling stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the general elections scheduled to be held on February 8, 2024.
According to provincial interim government cabinet briefing held here on Friday with Chief Minister Justice (retd) Arshan Hussain Shah in the chair, the upcoming general elections will be held for 55 National Assembly constituencies and 145 Provincial Assembly seats.
A total of 15,737 polling stations will be set up throughout the province, out of which 4843 will be for men and 4285 for female voters for Feb,8 2024 elections.
According to statistics shared by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) there are a total of 21.9 million registered voters, with 11.94m male and 9.98m female voters in KP. Statistics made available by the election watchdog indicate that 54.54 percent of the voters are men whereas 45.46pc of the registered voters are female in the province.
The provincial government has urged the political parties of the province to follow the SOPs issued by the ECP for holding political rallies and meetings in designated areas notified by the provincial government during daylight to ensure efficient security and safety of the participants.
In view of security concerns, the provincial government has decided to allocate100 government designated spaces for holding large political gatherings.
As for the security arrangements, it was informed that additional security personnel will also be mobilized from the Population Welfare, Excise, Forest and Tourism departments to meet the shortage of security personnel.
Similarly, an emergency plan has also been prepared which will be notified by the Health Department soon.
In connection with general elections, the provincial cabinet was informed that as many as 11,668 CCTV cameras are required to be installed inside and outside the polling stations.
“The Cabinet was informed that 1280 IT experts have been identified and committed to ensuring free and fair elections,” it added.
The election watchdog has announced the general election schedule which said that the nomination papers will be submitted from December 20 to December 22 and scrutiny of nomination papers by the Returning Officers will be held on December 24 to December 30.
As per ECP, appeals regarding the acceptance or rejection of the submitted nomination papers will be heard on January3, 2024.
January11, 2014 date has been fixed as the deadline for the withdrawal of nomination papers and January 13 has been given as a date for the allocation of election symbols to candidates. Polling will be held on February 8, 2024.
