ISLAMABAD: The nation on Thursday reiterated its strong resolve to democracy by exercising their right to vote in the general election 2024 for a smooth power transition to another elected set-up which will eventually contribute to the thriving democratic system in the country. It was the 5th consecutive transfer of power from one democratic set-up to another since the dawn of the 21st century (2002-2024) reflecting the nation’s solid commitment to democracy, democratic values, and norms.
No major untoward incident was reported throughout the day and the polling process remained overall peaceful with active participation of the citizens who came out in droves to exercise their right to vote for electing candidates of their choice.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ensured elaborate arrangements in collaboration with security departments and other state institutions to conduct the election in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful manner across the country.
Enthusiastic citizens were seen lined up outside their respective polling stations before the start of the polling process to elect their representatives for national and provincial assemblies.
The queues surged gradually throughout the day as passionate voters – males, females, senior citizens and special persons – actively took part in the marathon balloting process in line with their national duty.
The nine-hour polling commenced at 8:00 am and continued without any break till 5 pm, amid tight security to elect 265 members of the National Assembly and 590 members of provincial assemblies for the next five-year term (2024-29).
While casting his vote, President Dr Arif Alvi urged the countrymen to use their voting rights saying that the country needed their opinion as never before. Later, he wrote on his X timeline, “The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has asked for your personal advice through your vote to elect representatives to the National & Provincial Assemblies.” Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar visited various polling stations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, talked to the polling staff and inspected the voting process as well as the facilities provided to the voters.
Caretaker Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi cast the first vote at a polling station in an NA-46 Islamabad-I constituency.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja had been personally monitoring the election proceedings at the Central Election Monitoring Control Center.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), over 128 million registered voters were scheduled to exercise their democratic rights by casting votes for candidates participating in elections for the national and provincial legislatures.
The government had deployed over 648,000 security personnel nationwide to ensure the safety of voters, as well as, conduct of fair and transparent polling process.
Out of 648,000 security personnel deployed, 137,000 were from army and paramilitary forces, while 511,000 policemen performed duties during the election. An average of seven to eight security personnel manned each of the 90,777 polling stations across the country.
In the first tier, the police performed the duty, along with the civil armed forces in the second tier and the armed forces in the third tier.
A special aerial Quick Reaction Force (QRF) had also been established to promptly deal with any untoward incident, especially in the Balochistan province.
