Pakistan: Electoral body asks political parties to submit poll expenses' details by April 22

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has notified that all political parties have to submit details of expenses incurred and donations received during the general elections 2024 and disclose their list of donors by April 22, reported The Express Tribune.

All the political parties, that have participated in the general election are required under Section 211 of the Elections Act, 2017 and Rule 161 of the Election Rules to submit to the ECP the details of expenses and donations equal to and exceeding a million.

Reportedly, the parties have to submit it within 60 days of the issuance of the notification of their successful candidates, the ECP stated.

Pakistan held its 2024 general elections on February 8, however, the results have faced major criticism, including poll rigging.

Earlier in March, Incarcerated former premier Imran Khan said that if there had been electronic voting machines (EVM) in the election, all the rigging issues would have been solved in an hour, Dawn reported.

"If there were an electronic voting machine today, the issue of rigging would have been solved in an hour, according to Imran Khan's conversation with journalists," PTI posted on the social media platform.

The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT), in its recent report, in its assessment of the 2024 general elections, indicated that the February 8 general elections recorded the lowest fairness score since 2013, reported Dawn.

Highlighting a concerning decline in fairness scores compared to previous election cycles, the assessment was based on an independent analysis by Pildat, alongside a questionnaire scored by politicians, lawyers, activists, retired bureaucrats and military officials, and politically aware youth.

Moreover, the assessment was divided into three parts; the pre-polling process, polling on election day, and the post-polling process, according to Dawn.

The report further highlighted key issues, including political repression, suspension of mobile and internet services on polling day, delay in announcement of election results, delay in publishing the results of Forms 45, 46, 48 and 49 on the website of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and a delay in allocating reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council.