September 27, 2002	Friday	Rajab 19, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: The Election Commission (EC) has directed the presiding officers (POs) to allow polling agents of the candidates to check the ballot paper books with serial numbers, to ensure that all the ballot papers meant for their polling stations were available in polling bags, and that nothing was detached from them.

The EC in its meeting on Thursday reviewed the measures it had been proposing to ensure fair elections, and said that on the polling day, the sealed polling bags should be opened in the presence of the polling agents.

The commission asked the POs to ensure that each sealed polling bag contained a detailed invoice of all election material and the ballot paper books with serial number.

The EC said it also should be ensured that a certificate should be obtained from the polling agents in whose presence the polling bags were opened and the polling commenced.

The EC stated that the ballot papers provided at the polling stations were not numbered, and only the counterfoils of the ballot papers bore the running serial number.

The commission said the rationale behind this was that once a ballot paper was issued to a voter, and he marked and inserted it in the ballot box concerned, and no one could find as to who has voted for whom.

The chief election commissioner said it should also be ensured that all ballot boxes should also be shown empty to the polling agents and should be sealed for balloting in their presence and a certificate to this effect should also be obtained.

The commission, highlighting the other measures, stated that it should be ensured that in the “statement of count” (Form-XIV), copy whereof was enclosed, the presiding officers should write the number of votes secured by each candidate both in words and figures to eliminate the chances of any alteration.

About the results, the commission announced that on the basis of statement of counts in respect of all polling stations in a constituency, total votes polled and the votes polled by each contesting candidates would be summed up by the returning officer (RO) concerned for each NA and PA constituency.

The ROs would prepare preliminary results of election and the each result would also be signed by the candidate concerned or his election agent, who might be present at that time.

The commission clarified that such results for the constituency would be announced by the concerned ROs locally at the spot, and a copy of the preliminary results for the constituency would be pasted at the prominent places outside the ROs offices.

The result would also be transmitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan through telephone and fax, and they would be released to the electronic and print media by the Election Commission, the EC said.

About the consolidation of results by the ROs, the Election Commission clarified that every result would be finally consolidated on a date fixed by the officer concerned.

The consolidation would be carried out in the presence of the candidate and/or the election agent of the candidate, the EC added.