ECC approves technical grant for general elections: sources

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved a technical grant to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for general elections, ARY News reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

According to details, the ECC – chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar – has approved a technical grant to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for general elections.

Sources told ARY News that the electoral watchdog had sought Rs47.42 billion from the government in order to make preparations for next year’s general election.

According to the summary, the ECP requested that the rationalised amount of Rs47.42bn be approved upfront and be released in two phases — Rs31.42 billion during the current fiscal year and another Rs16 billion during the next fiscal (2023-24).

Sources added that the ECC did not earmark a major supplementary grant, but approved a partial amount to electoral body.

Meanwhile, the committee approved the budget for conducting a media campaign on the summary tabled by the Ministry of Information. The committee also considered a summary regarding the tariff for K-Electric (KE).

Earlier on November 15, the coordination committee deferred approval of an Rs47 billion grant to Election Commission of Pakistan for general elections.

On November 19, it was reported that the Election Commission had completed its preparations for the next general elections. The electoral watchdog had acquired non-sensitive material and papers for ballot papers.

Sources told ARY News that printing of material was being carried out while delimitations of constituencies have been completed. The ECP has also updated the electoral lists and prepared the data of polling staff, sources claimed.