Pakistan Gears Up for Feb. 8 Elections: 260 Million Ballot Papers in the Making!"

 In Pakistan, they are currently printing 260 million ballot papers for the upcoming elections scheduled for February 8. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has assigned symbols to political parties and independent candidates, with a total of 150 symbols for parties and 174 for independent candidates.

The printing process began after the symbols were allotted, and it is expected to be completed by February 3. The ECP spokesperson, Syed Nadeem Haider, mentioned that there are 18,059 candidates running for various positions in this election, and the printed ballot papers will be used for both national and provincial assemblies.

Compared to the previous election in 2018, they are printing 40 million additional ballot papers, bringing the total to 260 million. Additionally, the amount of paper used is expected to increase from 800 tons in 2018 to an estimated 2070 tons for the upcoming polls.

Haider also expressed concern about candidates appealing to change their election symbols, as it could lead to delays in holding the vote in certain constituencies. If the trend continues, there may be a need to reprint ballot papers within a limited timeframe, and there is a risk of wasting special paper used for the ballots.

The appeals for symbol changes have arisen, particularly after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, lost its election symbol of a cricket bat. This happened because the PTI did not conduct intra-party elections, a requirement for participating in the upcoming vote. Now, each PTI candidate has been assigned separate symbols from an independent list, which may result in extra costs for campaign materials and potential difficulties for voters, especially those who are illiterate.