Over 100 foreign observers present for general elections: Pakistan’s Chief Election Commissioner

Islamabad [Pakistan]: Pakistan’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja has said that over 100 foreign observers are present in the country for the February 8 general elections, Dawn newspaper reported. 

The electoral body’s statement informed that the CEC explained to a Commonwealth observer group that Pakistan has adopted an “open door policy” for foreign poll observers. 
The ECP on Monday concluded setting up the Election Management System (EMS), ARY News reported. 

The secretary of the election commission Syed Asif Hussain revealed to ARY News in an exclusive interview that 3,600 people have received training to operate the EMS system and that 3,000 computers have been set up for the EMS. 

The ECP secretary claimed that the problems that arose during the EMS trials had been fixed and that a private network had been set up for the systems so they could function even without internet access, according to ARY News.

Meanwhile, in a different interview, Director-General Information Technology (DG-IT) Khizar Hayat reaffirmed that the EMS has been utilised in 40 elections and that its technology has been improved to guarantee seamless operations during the polls. 

Khizr Hayat went on to say that the Returning Officer (RO) will receive the results from the Presiding Officer (PO) by EMS, and in the event of a problem, the PO will deliver the findings to the RO in person. 

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also completed the printing of 260 million ballot papers for all constituencies in the country ahead of the February 8 general elections.