ISLAMABAD: The election campaign officially ends today (Tuesday) midnight as political parties and candidates make their final push to influence voters.
As per the election rules, the political parties and candidates are required to wind up their campaigns by 12 p.m. Tuesday. The candidates will be holding final rallies and events this evening to make a last-ditch effort to attract the voters.
So far, the election campaign has been marked by dismal atmosphere, intense political rivalry, heated debates, fiery speeches but lesser rallies. The candidates and parties have tried to woo the voters with their promises, slogans and manifestos.
A total of 5,121 candidates, including 4,807 males, 312 females, and two transgenders – representing diverse ideologies – are vying for the 266 general seats in the National Assembly.
Simultaneously, 12,695 candidates comprising 12,123 males, 570 females, and two transgenders, are contesting the 593 general seats for the four provincial assemblies collectively. Voting for both the National and the provincial assemblies will be held on Feb 8 (Thursday).
Pakistan has 128,585,760 registered voters in 2024 elections, with Punjab leading the count at 73,207,896, followed by Sindh with 26,994,769, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) 21,928,119, Balochistan 5,371,947, and Islamabad having 1,083,029 registered voters.
The parties in the field are the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and several others regional and religious parties.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is also in the contest but not as a party as the Election Commission of Pakistan denied its election symbol, Bat, after objecting to its intra-party elections. Instead, the PTI-backed candidates are contesting as independents.
According to the Election Commission, after the end of the campaigning at midnight between Feb 6 and 7, the election materials would be transported to polling stations under strict security
