Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja presided over a vital meeting on Thursday at the election commission, where the electoral body announced that Rs20 billion will be needed for the elections. Only Rs5 billion of that total have been given to the commission thus far, leaving a Rs15 billion gap.
The commission has urged the government to swiftly release the required cash so that election preparations can move forward without more hiccups.
To guarantee that money and security would be available for the aforementioned elections, the finance secretary and home secretary were invited to the conference.
The ECP had told the finance secretary that a staggering Rs65 billion would be needed to conduct the forthcoming general election throughout the entire country.
While briefing the ECP, the finance secretary shed light on the challenging economic situation in the country and expressed difficulties in providing the necessary funds for upcoming elections.
He explained the current state of the economy, including issues such as inflation, rising debt, and declining revenue streams.
According to the secretary of the ECP, more personnel will be needed in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to maintain the safety and security of the voting process.
In addition to the police in both provinces, 297,000 additional personnel will be needed in Punjab and 56,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ECP secretary advised the commission.
The Army, the Rangers, and other law enforcement agencies had to provide the necessary personnel, and the interior secretary was in charge of making the arrangements and notifying the ECP when they were complete.
On March 10, the Pakistani government scheduled a meeting with secret agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and Counter-Terrorism Departments (CTDs) of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Also, a meeting has been scheduled for next week with the inspector general and chief secretaries of both provinces.