Haroon Shinwari, the spokesperson of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), says the electoral watchdog has established a control room to monitor the Feb 8 polls.

At a media briefing, he said state-of-the-art technology would be used to monitor elections, elaborating that the ECP was for the first time using WhatsApp for complaints during the polling process.

Moreover, email and a universal helpline can be used to register complaints. Shinwari added that four control rooms had been set up on the provincial level while 32 regional control rooms had been established.

According to the spokesperson, 144 district monitoring teams had been formed for similar purposes. From Dec 25 to date, show-cause notices have been issued to 252 candidates and 156 people have been fined over violation of the code of conduct.