182,539 staff to be deputed in KP for polls

PESHAWAR: Approximately 182,539 staff will be deputed to conduct the general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with 47,526 polling booths to be established across 15,737 polling stations.

Notably, 4,812 polling stations in the province have been declared highly sensitive, and 6,581 are deemed sensitive. Additionally, 163 transgender individuals will cast their votes in different cities of the province.

According to the election commission data, there are 36 district returning officers, 160 returning officers, 322 assistant returning officers, 36 DMOs, and 230 members of monitoring teams engaged in the election process in the province. The election task will be assigned to approximately 16,524 presiding officers, 99,805 assistant presiding officers, 49,902 polling officers, and 16,524 supporting staff. The election commission will establish 4,844 male and 4,286 female polling stations, while 6,607 polling stations will be combined for both men and women. In the entire province, 26,302 male and 21,224 female polling booths will be set up to facilitate voting.

The data reveals that the commission, in collaboration with local administration and police, has declared 4,812 polling stations highly sensitive, while 6,581 polling stations are considered sensitive. Out of the 15,737 polling stations, 4,344 are categorised as normal.

For the 45 National Assembly seats, 22,720,500 ballot papers will be printed, and 22,720,500 ballot papers will be printed for the 115 provincial assembly seats. Additionally, 227,205 ballot paper books will be printed.

The records disclosed that 1,329 nomination papers were filed for the National Assembly, with 1,175 accepted and 154 rejected. Similarly, 3,434 nomination papers were submitted for the provincial assembly, with 3,082 accepted and 352 rejected. Ninety-seven papers were filed for reserved seats in the National Assembly and 320 for the provincial assembly. Additionally, 74 nomination papers were filed for non-Muslim seats in the provincial assembly.

Election tribunals accepted 14 appeals each for the National and the Provincial Assembly. However, 102 appeals for the National Assembly and 199 for the Provincial Assembly were rejected.

Meanwhile, Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Aziz Bahadar informed the media that election preparations are in full swing and an all-out effort will be made to facilitate voters on election day.

He addressed an orientation session on the code of conduct for media persons in the Peshawar Press Club, accompanied by Director of Elections Asif Yasin and Deputy Director Sohail Khan.

He emphasised that the government and law enforcement agencies will provide due protection to media personnel for their freedom of expression, and media freedom should be exercised responsibly and following the code of conduct of the election commission.