Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja stated on Thursday that the internet shutdown caused by the suspension of cellular services will not impact the compilation of election results, affirming that the electoral watchdog has an “exclusive and independent networking system”.
"Most questions during my media talk earlier today were about the suspension of cellular services and concerns over delay in result compilation due to this," the CEC said in a statement released on X - formerly Twitter.
"However, I want to clarify that our election management system is not reliant on internet services and internet outage will not impact result compilation."
He further said that the resumption of the internet will be contingent upon the resolution of security concerns.
Sikandar Sultan Raja said the elections were entirely transparent throughout the country, with no voter being prevented from voting.**
"No citizen was prevented from voting," he said, adding that polling time was extended at three Gujarat polling stations at the request of the concerned voters.
While speaking to the media earlier in the day in Islamabad, the CEC said he was in constant touch with the government over the suspension of cellular services.
Raja said he was cognizant of the difficulties faced by voters due to the suspension of mobile phone services.
The chief election commissioner said people should have checked their voting details by sending a message on 8300 before the polling day.
When asked if the disruption of cellular services would slow down the voting process and result in low voter turnout, he said it was too early to talk about this topic.
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