ISLAMABAD: The 2013 general elections were 157pc costlier than the 2008 polls, a report on the last elections placed on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) website reveals.

According to the report, Rs184 billion was spent on the entire electoral exercise in 2008, which ballooned to Rs4.73 billion in 2013.

It reveals that the amount merely spent on the printing of ballot papers in 2013 surpassed the total expenses on elections in 2008: as against Rs 1.84 billion spent on the entire electoral exercise in 2008, a cost of Rs 1.87 billion was incurred on the printing of ballot papers for 2013 polls. The total cost of the ballot papers printed for the 2008 elections was Rs534 million.

Though the report says ballot papers were printed at a supply scale of two ballot papers for each registered voter at a polling station, one each for the national and provincial assembly elections, an additional ten million papers were printed.

The total number of registered voters was 86.1 million and two separate ballot papers were not required for Islamabad and Fata. Therefore, less than 172 million ballot papers were required, but the number actually printed was 181 million.

The allocation for the army during the 2013 general also increased manifold as compared to the 2008 polls. In 2008, the allocation was Rs120 million, which increased to Rs758 million in 2013.

Likewise, an amount of Rs4.5 million had been incurred on airlifting of ballot papers in 2008 elections and the expense under this head swelled to Rs 78 million in 2013 elections.

Detailing the factors that led to an increase in expenses for the general elections 2013, the report says that expenditure increased due to the use of C-130 aircraft and MI-17 helicopters for airlifting of ballot papers. A sum of Rs 78,038,238 was paid to Air Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence under this head.

The airlifting of ballot papers was necessary to due to the law and order situation in different areas of in all four provinces. In addition, during the five years between the conduct of the two elections, prices of essential items had increased manifold.

After the general elections, by-elections were held in 42 national and provincial assembly constituencies in August/September 2013, which were almost a mini-general election. The report pointed out that no additional funds were demanded from the Finance Division for this purpose and the by-polls were managed from the ECP’s annual budget grant for 2013-14.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2016

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