ECP issues guidelines for presiding officers for Forum-45

Islamabad- With just one day left until the general elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday directed presiding officers (PO) to handle Form-45 after conclusion of the polling.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Form 45 which is also known as Form 14 is the statement of the count.

It provides gender-disaggregated data based on male and female voters struck off from the electoral rolls at the relevant polling stations.

It also displays the valid votes for each candidate and excluded ballot papers.

The officers were also directed to meticulously prepare Form-45. They are required to sign it with their CNIC cards, obtain signatures from polling agents, and provide a brief reason for any refusal of signatures.

Moreover, they were also directed to post a copy of the form outside the polling station after signatures and hand it over to the polling agents.

The ECP emphasized that presiding officers would be accountable for any alterations in the form and should share photographs of the same with the returning officers (ROs).

 If the internet is unavailable, presiding officers must personally submit the form to the RO's office.

As Pakistan gears up for the general elections scheduled for February 8, 2024, more than 128 million male and female voters were expected to exercise their voting rights.

The ECP reports 5,121 candidates vying for National Assembly seats, including 4,807 males and 312 females. Two transgender individuals are also among the candidates.

Across the four provincial assemblies of Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Balochistan, a total of 12,695 candidates are competing, with 12,123 males and 570 females. The country has a total of 128,585,760 registered voters, with Punjab leading at 73,207,896, followed by Sindh with 26,994,769, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 21,928,119. Balochistan has 5,371,947 registered voters, and Islamabad has 1,083,029.