Election Commission of Pakistan proposed increase in expenditure for polls

Islamabad: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has proposed a four-fold increase in expenditure for polls to national and provincial assembly seats.

The ECP has now proposed Rs.6 million and Rs.4 million for a national assembly and provincial assembly seat, respectively. The proposal is part of a comprehensive draft on election reform.

The draft proposes that a party will not be eligible to receive an election symbol if it does not fulfil three conditions– If it had not secured at least one seat with its election symbol in any of the past three parliamentary polls; If it had failed to obtain five percent of total votes cast during the three previous polls; or If it has not set up offices in at least 10 districts.