17 billion 40 crore rupees released for election

Islamabad ; A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) expressed concern over non-provision of funds, the finance ministry granted Rs 17.4 billion to the poll body for poll arrangements.

The Ministry of Finance announced in a statement on Tuesday that it released Rs 17.4 billion in addition to Rs 10 billion to the ECP. Billion will be released in July 2023. “This brings the total amount released for the conduct of general elections to Rs 27.4 billion.

The Ministry of Finance remains committed to providing funds as requested by the Election Commission of Pakistan,” it added. On Monday, Finance Minister Imdad Ullah Bossar assured election monitoring bodies that funds for the upcoming parliamentary elections would be released within one to two days. Bosal was called before the committee after the Treasury Department did not respond to the allocation of campaign funds in the budget.

Addressing the ECP’s concerns, Acting Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said there was no crisis in meeting the Electoral Commission’s financial needs. By posting on social media platforms The minister said the budget amount requested by the ECP would be announced as needed. Solangi reiterated that the government firmly supports the ECP in conducting free and fair elections. 2024 general election Elections are currently underway in Pakistan, scheduled for February 8, 2024.

All political parties are preparing for showdowns ahead of the elections, while the ECP has announced the final list of constituency boundaries for the national parliament and four state assemblies. Election authorities are also expected to announce the election schedule later this month. The final list of boundaries was supposed to be announced on December 15th, but this was later changed to November 30th.