The 2024 General Elections in Pakistan have set a new record, becoming the most costly electoral event in the nation’s history. The price tag for each vote cast was a staggering Rs2,522, with the National Assembly (NA) and Provincial Assembly (PA) elections collectively exceeding Rs1 trillion in expenses.
Candidates themselves contributed significantly to this figure, with their expenditures surpassing Rs1 trillion. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on the other hand, had its own hefty bill of Rs48 billion. A considerable portion of the ECP’s budget was allocated to the procurement of imported watermark paper, stationery, election documents, ballot papers, and envelopes.
To accommodate voters, the ECP set up 92,000 polling stations nationwide. The distribution included 52,412 stations in Punjab, over 20,000 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 15,737 in Sindh, and 5,015 in Balochistan.
In the race for the National Assembly, candidates spent more than Rs52 billion. The Provincial Assembly elections saw 12,853 candidates, who collectively spent over Rs5 billion. Interestingly, about half of the candidates’ expenditures went towards polling agents and meals.
The election process also involved significant costs for delimitations, updating voter lists, procuring polling materials, ensuring security arrangements, conducting awareness campaigns, training election staff, and other security measures.
Despite the extensive preparations and high costs, the system was unable to deliver election results on time. Candidates across the country deposited more than Rs650 million. A total of 8,322 nominations were filed for the general and reserved seats of the National Assembly, while 20,304 nominations were submitted for PA seats.
National Assembly candidates deposited Rs249 million, and PA candidates contributed Rs400 million. The participation fee for the National Assembly seat elections was Rs30,000, a nonrefundable amount, adding to the overall cost of these historic elections.
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