The financial cost of elections

As the poor in Pakistan continue to bet their lives for a free sack of atta at distribution centres and others watch nervously as institutions crackle under the weight of political polarisation, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) can’t possibly defer its preparations for the ultimate duty — conducting general elections at a five years interval, due later this year. Besides legal and political hitches, the gaps in the availability of resources required for the massive country-wide exercise must be adding to ECP’s woes going forward. The ECP did not share the details of past election budgets or the upcoming 2023 elections, though the Chief Election Commissioner and senior members of his team were approached. The ECP spokesperson Quratul Ain Fatima promised to provide the required data and comments, but the response was awaited till the filing of this report. However, sources in the know of affairs in the Ministry of Finance shared some startling facts. According to the information cross-checked, the federal government cleared a special grant of Rs47 billion for Elections 2023 earlier but declined the ECP request for an additional supplementary grant of Rs15bn.