LAHORE, Feb 07 (APP): Provincial Election Commissioner (PEC) Punjab Ijaz Anwar Chohan on Wednesday said that political parties and candidates should play their role for free, fair and transparent elections and ensure compliance of code of conduct on the polling day.
Talking to the media here, he said, “If political parties and candidates take such steps that create obstacles to the smooth conduct of elections, appropriate measures will be taken”. He said that returning officers and the presiding officers had been given adequate powers to exercise in such circumstances, adding that the police and army personnel would also be present and it was their duty to control the law and order situation.
The provincial election commissioner said that all arrangements had been finalised for the conduct of general elections in Punjab, urging voters to come out of their homes and cast votes. Reiterating the Election Commission’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the electoral process, he affirmed readiness to tackle any challenges on polling day.
Earlier, he personally reviewed the arrangements for distributing election materials at the University of Engineering and Technology, expressing satisfaction with the preparations.
In Punjab, there are 144 national and 297 provincial assembly constituencies. The total registered voter count in the province stands at 74.2 million, comprising 39.6 million males and 34.6 million females. Across Punjab, the Election Commission has established 50,900 polling stations and 149,390 polling booths.
Of these, 28,297 are categorized as normal, 15,617 as sensitive, and 6,040 as highly sensitive. Notably, CCTV cameras have been installed at every booth in highly sensitive stations.
The commission has appointed a total of 2,607 officers for overseeing the electoral process. This includes 42 district returning officers, 441 returning officers, 882 assistant returning officers, 42 district monitoring officers, and 1,200 monitoring officers.
Additionally, a substantial polling staff of 524,070 members has been deployed. This comprises 53,491 presiding officers, 313,719 assistant presiding officers, and 156,860 polling officers, ensuring the smooth conduct of elections across the province.
