ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Thursday that the total registered voters in the country have reached the figure of 97 million, including 54.5 male and 42.4 female voters. According to available data of registered voters shared by the ECP, out of the total count, 55.8 million voters were from Punjab, 20.64 million voters were from Sindh, 14 million voters from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3.7 million voters from Balochistan, 2.14 million voters from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and 0.69 million voters from the federal capital. It said that out of the total current figure, 14.6 million voters were between the age of 18 to 25 years, while 27. 6 million voters were between the age of 26 to 35 years. Similarly, 20.32 million voters were found to be between the age of 36 to 45 years, 14.8 million voters were between 46 to 55 years, and 9.8 million voters were aged between 56 to 65, while 9.5 million voters were above 65 years of age. The figure of registered voters in 2013 general elections was 86 million, while it was expected that the number of registered voters would cross the figure of 100 million by general elections 2018.
Election
http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Oct-2017/ecp-to-deploy-pak-army-troops-at-all-polling-stations-of-na-4-peshawar-iv-by-election
PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finalised all arrangements for the use of electronic voting machines (EVM) as pilot test in NA-4 Peshawar by-elections. Islamabad ECP Information Technology (IT) Director General (DG) Muhammad Khizar Aziz held a demo of the EVM for reporters belonging to different media organisations. On the occasion, DG Khizar Aziz said that the use of technology in the electoral process was a revolutionary step of the ECP towards ensuring transparency and accuracy, while also facilitating voters in the system. He requested all stakeholders to join hands with the election commission in conducting the coming general elections in accordance with the expectations of the people of the country. He stressed upon the contesting candidates of NA-4 to educate voters regarding the use of the new EVM technology, the lack of which would otherwise have a negative impact on the official results. He further said that around 100 voting machines would be used in NA-4 by-election as a pilot project in 100 polling booths of 35 polling stations for the first time in the history of the country. The political candidates hailed the efforts of the ECP for introducing the EVM to make voting process simple and effective. On the other hand, candidates were informed by the officials concerned that this pilot project would have no effects on the traditional voting procedure, and official results would be tested on pilot basis only.
Newspaper: Pakistan-Today
Newspaper Link: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/19/electronic-voting-machines-to-make-a-debut-in-na-4-by-elections/
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Thursday that the total registered voters in the country have reached the figure of 97 million, including 54.5 male and 42.4 female voters. According to available data of registered voters shared by the ECP, out of the total count, 55.8 million voters were from Punjab, 20.64 million voters were from Sindh, 14 million voters from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3.7 million voters from Balochistan, 2.14 million voters from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and 0.69 million voters from the federal capital. It said that out of the total current figure, 14.6 million voters were between the age of 18 to 25 years, while 27. 6 million voters were between the age of 26 to 35 years. Similarly, 20.32 million voters were found to be between the age of 36 to 45 years, 14.8 million voters were between 46 to 55 years, and 9.8 million voters were aged between 56 to 65, while 9.5 million voters were above 65 years of age. The figure of registered voters in 2013 general elections was 86 million, while it was expected that the number of registered voters would cross the figure of 100 million by general elections 2018.
Newspaper: Pakistan-Today
Newspaper Link: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/19/number-of-registered-voters-reaches-97-million-ecp/
http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Oct-2017/ecp-to-deploy-pak-army-troops-at-all-polling-stations-of-na-4-peshawar-iv-by-election
Newspaper: The News
Newspaper Link: http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Oct-2017/ecp-to-deploy-pak-army-troops-at-all-polling-stations-of-na-4-peshawar-iv-by-election
ISLAMABAD: In a tacit endorsement of the findings of recently-held census, the federal cabinet on Wednesday decided to go ahead with delimitation of constituencies before the next general elections on the basis of provisional data of the exercise. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also sought suggestions from the cabinet members regarding proposed increase in the number of seats of parliament on the basis of the provisional results of the population census, according to sources. The sources said that during a debate on the issue, a majority of the cabinet members opposed the idea of increasing the number of general seats in the National Assembly from 272, terming it unnecessary under the present political and economic situation. On the other hand, a few cabinet members were of the view that the number of seats should be increased to 300, keeping in view the massive increase in the country’s population. Advertisement The prime minister deferred the decision on the matter and asked the cabinet members to come up with their suggestions at the next meeting. The members were of the opinion that since a constitutional amendment would be required in case they decided to increase the number of seats, there was a need to hold consultations with other political parties on the matter as well. At present there are 272 general seats and 70 reserved for women and minorities in the 342-member National Assembly. The increase in the number of seats of the national as well as provincial assemblies was last made by former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf before the 2002 general elections. The seats were increased through an amendment to the Constitution, which was later endorsed by parliament through the 17th Constitution Amendment. Under the laws, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is empowered to carry out delimitation of constituencies of the National Assembly, provincial assemblies as well as local bodies. However, a fresh legislation is required to allow the ECP to do so on the basis of the census results. The next elections are scheduled to be held after completion of the term of the present assembly on May 31. The ECP has already warned the government that the time is running out for fresh delimitation of constituencies ahead of the 2018 elections and that it would not be possible for the commission to carry out the exercise in a short period since the final results of the census are expected to be announced sometime in April next year. The ECP has also warned that legality of the general elections without delimitation could be questioned. Political experts see the cabinet’s decision on delimitation of the constituencies as an apparent move to settle the controversy over the census data by the Sindh government and some political parties. In August, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had approved the provisional results of the sixth census that put the country’s population at 207.77 million with an annual growth rate of 2.4 per cent. The sixth Population and Housing Census was carried out across the country from March 15 to May 24. The country’s total population stood at 132.35m in 1998. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had on different occasions told media personnel that in the CCI meeting he had expressed reservations on the census figures about his province and made the demand that the block-wise data be also released. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement had also rejected the census figures about the urban population of Sindh, particularly that of Karachi. Meanwhile, according to an official handout issued by the PM Office, the cabinet approved the signing of an inter-governmental agreement on supply of liquefied natural gas between the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) and the Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia. Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017
Newspaper: Dawn
Newspaper Link: https://www.dawn.com/news/1364769
eral elections, as 42.4 million out of the nearly 97 million registered voters in the country are between the ages of 18 and 35, statistics released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reveal. According to updated voters’ statistics sorted by age group, young people constitute 44pc of all registered voters, which means that their active participation in the electoral process will have a significant impact on election results. At least 15pc, or 14.7m of these voters are between the age bracket of 18-25 years, while 29pc or 27.7m are aged between 26 and 35. ECP statistics reveal voters aged 18-35 constitute 44pc of electorate The highest ratio of voters aged less than 25 years is in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), where they constitute 473,295 or 23pc of the total 2,142,552 registered voters. Advertisement This ratio is 18pc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 15pc in Punjab and Balochistan and 14pc in Islamabad. The lowest ratio of youngest voters is in Sindh, where only 2.6m or 12pc of at total 20.6 million voters are young people. In Fata, which has 38pc women voters and 62pc men, the gulf between the two genders is vast in the 18-25 age group. Out of a total 473,295 voters in this category, women’s share is just 135,984 compared to 337,311 male voters. Things are not different in KP, Balochistan and Sindh either, where the overall ratio of female voters is 43pc, 42pc and 45pc, respectively. The number of men between 18-25 years is more than double that of women voters. In KP, out of a total of 2.53m young voters, the number of men comes to around 1.7m against 819,323 female voters. Similarly in Balochistan, the total number of voters in this age bracket is 539,968, of which 365,783 are men and merely 174,185 are women. The total number of voters of this age in Sindh is 2.55m, which includes 1.69m men and 857,114 million women. In Punjab too, there is a significant gap. Of the 8.50m registered voters in the 18-25 age group, 5.6m are men while 2.9m women. In the category of those aged between 26-35 years, Fata and Balochistan are ahead of all other areas, with 31pc of their voters falling in this age group. The ratio is 30pc in KP, 29pc in Sindh and 28pc in Punjab and Islamabad. The total number of voters in the 36-45 age group is 20.3m, constituting 21pc of all the entries on the electoral rolls. The highest ratio of such voters is in Sindh, where voters aged 36-45 constitute 4.7m or 23pc of the total electorate. The ratio for such voters is 21pc each in Punjab and Balochistan, 20pc in Islamabad and 19pc each in KP and Fata. Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017
Newspaper: Dawn
Newspaper Link: https://www.dawn.com/news/1364753/young-voters-may-decide-outcome-of-2018-polls
ISLAMABAD: In a tacit endorsement of the findings of recently-held census, the federal cabinet on Wednesday decided to go ahead with delimitation of constituencies before the next general elections on the basis of provisional data of the exercise. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also sought suggestions from the cabinet members regarding proposed increase in the number of seats of parliament on the basis of the provisional results of the population census, according to sources. The sources said that during a debate on the issue, a majority of the cabinet members opposed the idea of increasing the number of general seats in the National Assembly from 272, terming it unnecessary under the present political and economic situation. On the other hand, a few cabinet members were of the view that the number of seats should be increased to 300, keeping in view the massive increase in the country’s population. Advertisement The prime minister deferred the decision on the matter and asked the cabinet members to come up with their suggestions at the next meeting. The members were of the opinion that since a constitutional amendment would be required in case they decided to increase the number of seats, there was a need to hold consultations with other political parties on the matter as well. At present there are 272 general seats and 70 reserved for women and minorities in the 342-member National Assembly. The increase in the number of seats of the national as well as provincial assemblies was last made by former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf before the 2002 general elections. The seats were increased through an amendment to the Constitution, which was later endorsed by parliament through the 17th Constitution Amendment. Under the laws, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is empowered to carry out delimitation of constituencies of the National Assembly, provincial assemblies as well as local bodies. However, a fresh legislation is required to allow the ECP to do so on the basis of the census results. The next elections are scheduled to be held after completion of the term of the present assembly on May 31. The ECP has already warned the government that the time is running out for fresh delimitation of constituencies ahead of the 2018 elections and that it would not be possible for the commission to carry out the exercise in a short period since the final results of the census are expected to be announced sometime in April next year. The ECP has also warned that legality of the general elections without delimitation could be questioned. Political experts see the cabinet’s decision on delimitation of the constituencies as an apparent move to settle the controversy over the census data by the Sindh government and some political parties. In August, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had approved the provisional results of the sixth census that put the country’s population at 207.77 million with an annual growth rate of 2.4 per cent. The sixth Population and Housing Census was carried out across the country from March 15 to May 24. The country’s total population stood at 132.35m in 1998. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had on different occasions told media personnel that in the CCI meeting he had expressed reservations on the census figures about his province and made the demand that the block-wise data be also released. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement had also rejected the census figures about the urban population of Sindh, particularly that of Karachi. Meanwhile, according to an official handout issued by the PM Office, the cabinet approved the signing of an inter-governmental agreement on supply of liquefied natural gas between the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) and the Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia. Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017
eral elections, as 42.4 million out of the nearly 97 million registered voters in the country are between the ages of 18 and 35, statistics released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reveal. According to updated voters’ statistics sorted by age group, young people constitute 44pc of all registered voters, which means that their active participation in the electoral process will have a significant impact on election results. At least 15pc, or 14.7m of these voters are between the age bracket of 18-25 years, while 29pc or 27.7m are aged between 26 and 35. ECP statistics reveal voters aged 18-35 constitute 44pc of electorate The highest ratio of voters aged less than 25 years is in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), where they constitute 473,295 or 23pc of the total 2,142,552 registered voters. Advertisement This ratio is 18pc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 15pc in Punjab and Balochistan and 14pc in Islamabad. The lowest ratio of youngest voters is in Sindh, where only 2.6m or 12pc of at total 20.6 million voters are young people. In Fata, which has 38pc women voters and 62pc men, the gulf between the two genders is vast in the 18-25 age group. Out of a total 473,295 voters in this category, women’s share is just 135,984 compared to 337,311 male voters. Things are not different in KP, Balochistan and Sindh either, where the overall ratio of female voters is 43pc, 42pc and 45pc, respectively. The number of men between 18-25 years is more than double that of women voters. In KP, out of a total of 2.53m young voters, the number of men comes to around 1.7m against 819,323 female voters. Similarly in Balochistan, the total number of voters in this age bracket is 539,968, of which 365,783 are men and merely 174,185 are women. The total number of voters of this age in Sindh is 2.55m, which includes 1.69m men and 857,114 million women. In Punjab too, there is a significant gap. Of the 8.50m registered voters in the 18-25 age group, 5.6m are men while 2.9m women. In the category of those aged between 26-35 years, Fata and Balochistan are ahead of all other areas, with 31pc of their voters falling in this age group. The ratio is 30pc in KP, 29pc in Sindh and 28pc in Punjab and Islamabad. The total number of voters in the 36-45 age group is 20.3m, constituting 21pc of all the entries on the electoral rolls. The highest ratio of such voters is in Sindh, where voters aged 36-45 constitute 4.7m or 23pc of the total electorate. The ratio for such voters is 21pc each in Punjab and Balochistan, 20pc in Islamabad and 19pc each in KP and Fata. Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017
LAHORE: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) told the Senate on Friday that the 2018 elections could not be held on the basis of the 2017 census results. PBS Chief Census Commissioner Asif Bajwa told the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation and Statistics that the elections would be delayed in case the government persists on using the latest census results for the elections. He further said that the final results of the census will be released after April 2018 and following the release of the results, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would need four months for the delimitation of constituencies in the country. This would delay the elections for months ahead of the expected time. Bajwa told the ECP in June that the results of the census will be delivered to the ECP in April 2018. ECP chief then told Bajwa that commission would not be able to process and utilize the data in time for the elections and as a result, the elections would have to be delayed.
Newspaper: Daily Times
Newspaper Link: https://dailytimes.com.pk/127165/2018-elections-cannot-held-based-census-results-pbs/
LAHORE: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) told the Senate on Friday that the 2018 elections could not be held on the basis of the 2017 census results. PBS Chief Census Commissioner Asif Bajwa told the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation and Statistics that the elections would be delayed in case the government persists on using the latest census results for the elections. He further said that the final results of the census will be released after April 2018 and following the release of the results, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would need four months for the delimitation of constituencies in the country. This would delay the elections for months ahead of the expected time. Bajwa told the ECP in June that the results of the census will be delivered to the ECP in April 2018. ECP chief then told Bajwa that commission would not be able to process and utilize the data in time for the elections and as a result, the elections would have to be delayed.
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday suspended the membership of 261 legislators for not submitting their statements of assets and liabilities. According to an official of the ECP, seven senators, 71 members of the National Assembly, 84 members of the Punjab Assembly, 50 members of the Sindh Assembly, 38 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 11 members of the Balochistan Assembly had failed to submit their statements of assets. He said the ECP had through a notification informed these parliamentarians that they would cease to function as legislators with immediate effect and till such statements were submitted by them. He said that so for 905 legislators had submitted their yearly statements of assets and liabilities of their own, spouses and dependents to the ECP. Out of total, 94 senators, 268 members of the National Assembly, 285 members of the Punjab Assembly, 118 members of the Sindh Assembly, 86 members of the KP Assembly and 54 members of the Balochistan Assembly submitted their statements with a ratio of 77.09 per cent. The official said that presently there were total 1,174 parliamentarians, including 104 senators, 342 members of the National Assembly, 371 members of the Punjab Assembly, 168 members of the Sindh Assembly, 124 members of the KP Assembly and 65 members of the Balochistan Assembly. He said that still eight seats were lying vacant in the Senate and national and provincial assemblies. The official said it was a mandatory requirement under Section 42A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, and Section 25A of the Senate (Election) Act, 1975, that those parliamentarians who failed to submit statements of assets and liabilities would be suspended from respective seats of the Senate and national and provincial assemblies. Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017
Newspaper: Dawn
Newspaper Link: https://www.dawn.com/news/1364301/ecp-suspends-membership-of-261-legislators
ISLAMABAD: Raising apprehension that questions will be raised if the next general elections are held without delimitation of new constituencies, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Babar Yaqoob has said that the ECP has thus written to the government for creating new constituencies. He said this while addressing a seminar on Electoral Reforms Act 2017 here on Monday. The secretary also informed that the ECP has objected to some clauses of the newly-passed law because it will deprive the poor of contesting elections in the upcoming polls. He also said that this law should have been passed earlier in the Parliament. “Once the Census 2017 results are finalised, the new electoral constituencies would be formed,” said Yaqoob, adding that the ECP needed a minimum of five months for making new constituencies. Talking about the electronic voting machines (EVM), he said the experiment of using BVMs will not succeed in the country because of its high cost, and added that a policy on the matter is being devised. The secretary said that the use of BVMs in the NA-120 by-election in Lahore last month revealed the anomalies in the system as thumb impressions of 10 to 12 per cent of the voters of the constituency could not be verified. He added that around 12.5 million voters were not registered with the National Data and Registration Authority (NADRA).
Newspaper: Pakistan-Today
Newspaper Link: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/16/ecp-writes-to-govt-for-creating-new-constituencies/
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will ensure the registration of all eligible women as voters in the electoral rolls before the 2018 general elections. Addressing the 10th Rural Women Annual conference on Monday, ECP Additional Secretary Dr Akhtar Nazar said that with the support of the National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA), the ECP would ensure that every adult woman had possession of a computerised national identity card (CNIC) in order to be registered with the commission before next year’s election. He said that the role of political parties, civil society and the media was important to educate the women about the country’s polling system. He also said that the commission would pay special focus on registration of women voters during its annual electoral rolls campaign to be initiated from November. ECP Additional Director Haroon Shinwari said that the commission would soon start its awareness campaign in 80 districts of the country during which women would be encouraged to get CNIC and register themselves as voters. He said that the ECP would particularly target the women living in rural areas of the country during the ongoing campaign. It merits mention here that the commission had also arranged an awareness camp to educate women about the voting procedure and other aspects of the election process to allow them to play an effective role in the elections.
Newspaper:
Newspaper Link: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/16/ecp-to-ensure-registration-of-all-eligible-women-voters-before-2018/
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday suspended the membership of 261 legislators for not submitting their statements of assets and liabilities. According to an official of the ECP, seven senators, 71 members of the National Assembly, 84 members of the Punjab Assembly, 50 members of the Sindh Assembly, 38 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 11 members of the Balochistan Assembly had failed to submit their statements of assets. He said the ECP had through a notification informed these parliamentarians that they would cease to function as legislators with immediate effect and till such statements were submitted by them. He said that so for 905 legislators had submitted their yearly statements of assets and liabilities of their own, spouses and dependents to the ECP. Out of total, 94 senators, 268 members of the National Assembly, 285 members of the Punjab Assembly, 118 members of the Sindh Assembly, 86 members of the KP Assembly and 54 members of the Balochistan Assembly submitted their statements with a ratio of 77.09 per cent. The official said that presently there were total 1,174 parliamentarians, including 104 senators, 342 members of the National Assembly, 371 members of the Punjab Assembly, 168 members of the Sindh Assembly, 124 members of the KP Assembly and 65 members of the Balochistan Assembly. He said that still eight seats were lying vacant in the Senate and national and provincial assemblies. The official said it was a mandatory requirement under Section 42A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, and Section 25A of the Senate (Election) Act, 1975, that those parliamentarians who failed to submit statements of assets and liabilities would be suspended from respective seats of the Senate and national and provincial assemblies. Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017
