ECP posts Forms 45, 47 on website, finally

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finally uploaded on its website Form 45, Form 46, Form 48 and Form 49 of all the constituencies of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures concerning the general elections held on February 8, 2024.

According to the ECP law, these forms have to be uploaded on the ECP website within 14 days after the polling day. However, this development comes after around a month following the general elections while the delay in this context has been a hot topic among political circles and election-related bodies.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was in the lead in raising hue and cry and targeting the electoral body for its failure to meet the legal requirement of uploading the electoral documents within the stipulated time. It has been consistent in alleging that scores of its seats were ‘stolen’ by changing the results of Form 45 on Form 47.

During media talks, PTI leaders have been charging that as per Form 45, they were leading while on Form 47, they were declared losers.

After the 2024 elections, the ECP was bound to put on display these important documents related to the elections on its website by February 22, which is seen as a part of transparency in the elections.

The Section 95 of the Elections Act 2017 mandates returning officers to submit comprehensive election results to the ECP within 24 hours of the collection of votes, after which the commission has 14 days to make these documents accessible to the public.

These forms contain data concerning votes cast at all polling stations in each constituency, votes obtained by candidates, combined votes of all polling stations and the number of votes obtained by all candidates, as well as other information, including rejected votes and serial numbers of ballot papers.