ISLAMABAD, Sept 10: The Election Commission on Tuesday notified the counting of votes procedure for the forthcoming general elections, promising that votes would be counted in the presence of polling agents and results would be announced locally.

The Commission issued “The Counting of Votes (General Elections) Order, 2002” for the elections to National and provincial assemblies.

The order stated that the notification had been issued in order to make electoral process fair, transparent, impartial, and to streamline the process of counting of votes at the polling stations, and communication and announcement of preliminary results.

The notification said immediately after polling was over, sealed ballot boxes would be shown to the polling agents and observers present there and opened in their presence.

The votes would then be counted at the polling stations in the presence of the candidates or their polling agents, if available.

The counting process could also be witnessed by the recognized international observers to whom passes would be issued by the Commission, the order adds.

The statement of count would be prepared by the Presiding Officers in presence of the polling agents and signatures of the polling agents would also be obtained thereon at each polling station. The carbon copies would be supplied to each polling agent on the spot. A copy of the statement of the count would be pasted outside the polling station for information of general public to ensure transparency. Preliminary results to be prepared by the returning officers, the notification said.

On the basis of statement of counts in respect of all polling stations in a constituency, the total votes polled and votes polled by each contesting candidates would be summed up by the Returning Officer concerned for each National and Provincial Assembly constituency.

The notification said the Returning Officer would prepare preliminary result of election, which would also be signed by the candidate and/or his election agent, who might be present at that time.

The preliminary results of the constituency would be announced by the Returning Officer concerned locally on the spot and a copy of the preliminary result of the constituency would be pasted on the notice board and/or at any prominent place outside his office.

The result would also be transmitted to the Election Commission through telephone and telefax. The preliminary result would be released to the electronic and print media by the Election Commission.

According to the EC notification, the result would be finally consolidated on a date fixed by the Returning Officer. The consolidation would be carried out in the presence of the candidate and/or the election agent of the candidate.

The consolidated statement of count would be sent by the Returning Officer to the Election Commission by special messenger or by the quickest possible means and the results would then be notified in the Gazette of Pakistan by the Election Commission.