ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will follow aninnovative approach to convey the results of the General Elections 2018.The setup is called Results Transmission System (RTS) in which anAndroid-based application will be used to transmit results in real time.Results Transmission System
ECP has already conducted tests of the new system at the by-elections inNA-4 Peshawar and PS-114 Karachi constituencies. The presiding officers(PO) enter the polling results in the app which then transmits the data tothe ECP servers in real time. The photo of FORM XIV is captured anduploaded on the app as well.
The app also automatically uses GPS to record the result’s location and thetime of the upload. ECP says that this will enhance the transparency anddiscourage unofficial announcements by the electronic media.——————————
ECP has worked with National Database Registration Authority (NADRA),Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and several telecom operators tomake the operations seamless. According to an ECP official, the commissionfaced some challenges over smooth connectivity for which help from telecomcompanies was sought.
The biggest challenge was the areas where 3G/4G connectivity wasn’tavailable. POs had to travel several hundred kilometers to find the signalsand convey the results. However, the official added that the new app willtake care of this hassle as its efficiency and coverage has been improved.Bonus
The election commission also issued a press release announcing someincentives for the presiding officers. The ECP announced Rs. 1,000 bonusfor all POs serving on 85,000 polling stations across the country. Thisstep would encourage the officers to use their own cell phones and conveytimely results. The commission, in this regard, is training over 200,000POs with NADRA’s help.——————————Presiding Officers’ Duties
According to Section 13 of the Election Act 2017, POs are required to sendthe pictures of Form 45 through RTS. The POs are bound to take photos ofthe result and send it right away as soon as they have connectivity.
Returning officers (ROs) are required to compile the results before 2.00 amof the day that follows the election day. The ROs must send scanned andoriginal election-related documents including ballot paper count to the ECPunder Section 90.
The ECP is bound to publish all election-related data on its website aswell.
The General Election 2018 is scheduled to be held on 25th July 2018.