ISLAMABAD: The upcoming 2024 General Elections in Pakistan will witness the participation of 5,254 candidates from various political parties and independents, contending for the 266 general seats of the National Assembly (NA), according to local media reports citing the electoral body on Friday.
Initially, 6,999 candidates were declared eligible for the 266 NA constituencies, but during the process, 1,737 candidates, accounting for 24.81% of the total, withdrew their nomination papers.
In addition, 12,853 contestants are vying for 593 general seats across the four provincial assemblies. Following scrutiny, 17,164 individuals were deemed eligible to participate in the elections for the assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.
According to sources from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 4,233 candidates opted out of the electoral race by withdrawing their nomination papers.
On January 28, the ECP released detailed polling schemes for the upcoming General Elections 2024, outlining the establishment of a total of 90,675 polling stations nationwide.
The breakdown provided by the ECP indicated that 25,320 polling stations are designated for men, 23,952 for women, and 41,403 joint polling stations for both men and women.
Breaking down the figures, the ECP specified that Punjab would have the highest number of polling stations at 50,944, followed by 19,006 in Sindh, 15,697 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 5,028 in Balochistan.
According to the ECP, a total of 276,398 polling booths will be established across the country, with 128,846 polling booths for women and 147,552 for men.