Additional Director General (ADG) Haroon Shinwari announced on Monday that the Election Management System (EMS) glitches have been successfully resolved as Pakistan gears up for the ballots on February 8.
In a media briefing held in Islamabad, Shinwari assured that the issues encountered during the trial phase of EMS have been addressed, particularly enabling individuals with expired ID cards to cast their votes without hindrance. He emphasized that directives have been issued to all staff members to facilitate voting for those with expired IDs.
To streamline the election process, 3,000 laptops have been procured for EMS, with 3,600 operators trained to operate them. A dedicated control room, functioning independently of the internet through a private network, has been established to monitor the elections, equipped with state-of-the-art monitoring systems.
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Complaints from across the country can be filed via email and a universal phone number, with provincial-level control rooms complemented by 32 regional monitoring control rooms overseeing the election process. To address grievances, 144 district monitoring teams are actively involved, and a WhatsApp platform has been launched for complaint registration, marking a first in the election monitoring process.
Since December 26, notices have been served to 625 individuals for code of conduct violations, with 252 candidates receiving show-cause notices and 156 facing fines. Notably, measures have been taken to remove 12,236 wall chalkings and hoardings, and candidates could face disqualification for serious violations.
Shinwari expressed satisfaction with the EMS performance during trials, asserting that results will be transmitted through the system. All control rooms are operational 24/7, with the central room functioning continuously until the election results are announced. EMS is designed to operate both offline and online.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finalized all necessary preparations, with the chief election commissioner overseeing operations from the control room on polling day instead of visiting the provinces physically. The EMS, rather than the result management system, will be employed this time, enabling presiding officers to transmit Form 45 through EMS, even without an internet connection.
