LARKANA, April 1: After a hectic exercise of voters’ verification undertaken by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the number of eligible voters has reduced in Larkana district.

Sources in the ECP told Dawn here on Monday that the number of registered voters during the general elections held in 2008 was 7,31,109, but after the verification, it had reduced to 5,89, 325.

The voters whose names were deleted from the list included those having duplicate computerised national identity cards (CNICs), some did not have CNICs while some possessed old identity cards. Migration of people also affected the voters’ population, the sources said.

The ECP has provided the lists of voters to local offices from where they have been handed over to the returning officers concerned.

This week the ECP through National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) would provide the lists carrying photographs of the voters.

This would help assist in discouraging bogus voting during the election process, the sources.

CANDIDATES: Till closing date of March 31, aspirants of different political and religious parties submitted 310 nomination papers for two seats of the National Assembly and four seats of the Provincial Assembly in Larkana district.

For NA-204 (Larkana-I), 55 candidates while for NA-205 (Larkana-II), 37 contenders filed their papers.

Forty-six candidates filed papers for PS-35 (Larkana-I), 69 for PS-36 (Larkana-II), 43 for PS-37 (Larkana-III) and 60 candidates submitted their papers for PS-41 (Larkana-IV).

In Qambar-Shahdadkot district, 86 candidates submitted their papers for two seats of National Assembly and four of the Provincial Assembly.

For NA-206(Larkana-III), 22 aspirants and for NA-207 (Larkana-IV), 21 candidates filed papers.

Twenty-seven candidates for PS-38 (Larkana-V), 23 for PS-39 (Larkana-VI), 19 for PS-40 (Larkana-VII) and 17 filed papers for PS-42 (Larkana-VIII).