On February 8, 2024, Pakistan will hold general elections, with over 128 million male and female voters expected to exercise their voting rights. The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has called upon all election stakeholders to make collective efforts to ensure the credibility of the polls. The electoral watchdog urged all election stakeholders to ensure that the voters can freely cast their ballots and subsequent processes of counting, tabulation, and consolidation are conducted transparently according to the provisions of the Elections Act, 2017.
The elections are crucial for Pakistan to ensure political stability, which is essential for social and economic development. Despite the political entanglement and uncertainties that have led to polarisation and communal stress, a credible election is essential to inspire confidence in all political parties and the Pakistani people.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reported that 5,121 candidates are in the race for the National Assembly seats, with 4,807 males and 312 females. Additionally, 12,695 candidates are contesting for the provincial assemblies, with 12,123 males and 570 females. The country has a total of 128,585,760 registered voters, with Punjab having the most at 73,207,896, followed by Sindh with 26,994,769, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 21,928,119, Balochistan with 5,371,947, and Islamabad with 1,083,029 voters.