Senior Secretary of the Election Commission (EC) Akhtar Ahmed on Thursday said that ballot papers for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum have already reached 116 constituencies, while the remaining ballots will be delivered by February 7.
“We have already sent ballot papers to the returning officers of 116 parliamentary constituencies and will be able to send the remaining ballots by February 7, Insha’Allah,” he said.
He shared the information while briefing reporters at the Election Commission Secretariat in Agargaon.
EU Mission Briefed on Election Preparations
Speaking about a meeting between the Chief Election Commissioner and the head of the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission, Akhtar Ahmed said the EU team wanted to know about overall election preparations and the readiness of law enforcement agencies.
“We shared details of the preparations taken so far, including the progress of sending ballot papers to the constituencies,” he said, adding that the EU mission was mainly interested in the progress of the February 12 election.
Delay Due to Reprinting of Ballots
The EC secretary explained that delays in sending ballot papers occurred because ballots had to be reprinted in several areas.
“In some places, ballots needed to be reprinted due to last-minute reinstatement of candidates and court orders. That is why we needed additional time, but all ballots will be delivered by February 7,” he said.
Law Enforcement Deployment
Regarding security arrangements, Akhtar Ahmed said the EC informed the EU mission that the army will be deployed for seven days, Ansar members for eight days, while police are already deployed across the country. The army has also begun field-level deployment.
He added that 1,050 executive magistrates will remain in the field from February 8 to February 14 to conduct mobile courts. Deployment of judicial magistrates is yet to be finalised, but they are also expected to remain active during the same period. Meanwhile, Electoral Inquiry and Adjudication Committees are already working in the field.
Campaign Deadline and Postal Voting
The EC secretary said that election campaigning will end at 7:30am on February 10, which is 48 hours before polling begins.
On postal voting, he said 107,168 postal ballots have already reached returning officers, out of a total 3,79,924 postal ballots issued nationwide. Postal ballots will be accepted until 4:30pm on February 12.
He also said that 6,091 jail inmates are registered for postal voting. Voting in prisons began on February 3 and will continue until February 7.