Elections 2024: ECP begins extensive training of DROs, ROs from today

ISLAMABAD: Taking another step towards the conduct of general elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will begin extensive training for District Returning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) appointed for the election duty from today (Wednesday).

Accordingly as many as 859 returning officers (ROs) will receive the three-day election training at their respective divisional levels from December 13 to 15, the notification of their appointment was issued Monday night.

The ECP has finalized the training preparations: Senior Election Commission officers will conduct training sessions for district returning officers and returning officers, covering election procedures, rules, and other administrative aspects.

Those appointed for the polls duty include 441 returning officers from Punjab, 160 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 191 from Sindh, and 67 from Balochistan. During this week, the ECP is also most likely to issue the election schedule.

Preparations have been completed for one-day training session on December 16, for 142 District Returning Officers in all the four provincial headquarters and they consist of 40 from Punjab, 36 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 36 from Balochistan, and 30 from Sindh.

Section 53 of the Elections Act, 2017, empowers the ECP to make appointments of DROs and ROs at least 60 days prior to the issuance of Election Programme. However, the law has a room for deviation in ‘exceptional circumstances’ for reasons to be recorded, in which case it can make the appointments simultaneously with the issuance of the election programme.