Islamabad: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said that if orders keep coming to change party symbols ahead of the crucial general assembly elections, the poll body would have to postpone the elections. General elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan on 8 February 2024 to elect the members of the 16th National Assembly.
Cricketer-turned politician and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan is still in jail as candidates from his party will contest the elections as independents using different election symbols after the country’s top court barred them from their cricket bat image.
The ECP further said that after the allotment of election symbols, it had already ordered the printing of ballot papers to the three printing corporations and the printing work had started a day before.
“If the process of changing the election symbols continues in the same way, there is a fear of election delay because the ballot papers will have to be reprinted for which time is already limited and on the other hand, the special paper available for the ballot papers will also be lost,” he said.
Stressing the wastage of paper, the ECP estimated that 2,070 tonnes would be used for printing the ballot papers in the 2024 polls, a multifold increase from the 800 tonnes of paper used in the 2018 elections, the report said. It added that while 220 million ballot papers were printed in 2018, a total of 260 million are being printed this year. According to the report, cash-strapped Pakistan, which is already facing an acute balance of payment crisis, imports paper.
The ECP hands out electoral symbols to political parties and candidates ahead of elections. The symbols appear on ballot papers along with names, but over 40 per cent of Pakistan’s 241 million population are illiterate, making the pictures extra important for recognition, the report said.
