Polls may be delayed due to ‘symbol dispute’, warns EC of Pakistan

Islamabad [Pakistan]: If orders keep coming to change the election symbols, the elections scheduled for February 8 may have to be delayed again, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) warned, Dawn reported on Wednesday. 

Without naming any court, the ECP in a statement pointed out that election symbols were being changed through various forums. 
The ECP further said that after the allotment of election symbols, it had already ordered the printing of ballot papers to the three printing corporations and the printing work had started a day before. 

“If the process of changing the election symbols continues in the same way, there is a fear of election delay because the ballot papers will have to be reprinted for which time is already limited and on the other hand, the special paper available for the ballot papers will also be lost,” he said. 

The commission also noted an over 33 per cent increase in the number of candidates for the upcoming general elections, as a total of 18,059 are in the run as compared to 11,700 candidates who contested the 2018 polls, according to Dawn. 

Notably, in the 2018 elections, 800-tonne paper was used for printing 220 million ballot papers, while this time the estimate is 2,070-tonne paper for printing of 260 mn ballot papers particularly after the update of electoral rolls in the backdrop of the delimitation of constituencies. 

While the ECP is dealing with this situation, it has repeatedly issued instructions to relevant officials that election symbols should not be changed once the printing has started. However, the statement added, “It was also being considered that if the trend of changing the election symbols did not stop, there would be no other option but to postpone the elections in such constituencies”. 

The ECP earlier barred district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) from changing election symbols allocated to electoral candidates for the upcoming elections, Dawn reported. 

According to ECP spokesman Syed Nadeem Haider, the ECP directed the provincial election commissioners, DROs and ROs to avoid changing election symbols at this stage and to seek its approval if a change was essentially required.