ECP concludes training of election staff ahead of 2024 polls

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed the training of approximately 1.49 million election staff to ensure the smooth execution of the upcoming general elections in 2024.

In a statement, the ECP spokesman said that the training sessions guaranteed the capability of all election personnel to carry out their responsibilities proficiently and professionally in the upcoming general elections of 2024.

According to the spokesperson of the commission, a total of 27,676 sessions were conducted over 87 days in remote areas nationwide, involving 3,821 master trainers to train election staff comprehensively.

The sequence of training sessions commenced on November 19, 2023, concluding on the evening of February 3, 2024. Participants in these sessions comprised 144 District Returning Officers (DROs), 859 Returning Officers (ROs), and polling staff.

A total of 7,663 two-day training sessions were held, involving 191,526 trained polling staff, including both Presiding Officers and Senior Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs).

Additionally, 19,630 training sessions were carried out for 785,060 Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs) and Polling Officers. To guarantee transparent, free, and fair elections, 32 Regional Monitoring Coordinators (RMCs) and 1,336 District Monitoring Officers (DMOs) were appointed at the regional level to oversee election activities according to Section 234 of the Election Act, 2017. Adequate training was also provided for Monitoring Officers (MOs).

The commission conducted 148 training sessions to improve the operation of the Election Management System (EMS), engaging around 5,000 officers and data entry operators (DEOs) linked with returning officers.

Likewise, the Commission imparted training to 1,400 Master Trainers (MTs) to guarantee effective execution of security responsibilities during the elections. These Master Trainers then delivered essential training to 503,495 security personnel.

Meanwhile, the ECP has completed all arrangements for general elections being held on Thursday.

The Election Commission has established 90,675 polling stations in all four provinces and over 120million registered voters will cast their vote for National Assembly and four Provincial Assemblies, Radio Pakistan reported.

A total of 5,121 candidates are in the race for the National Assembly seats. These include 4,807 male, 312 female and two transgenders.

The elections will be held on two hundred and sixty-six general seats of the National Assembly and five hundred and ninety-three general seats of four provincial assemblies.