The District Returning Officer (DRO) on Monday issued the final scheme for polling in Lahore for the general elections 2018 scheduled to be held on July 25. Sources in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Monday that there will be separate polling booths for around 30,12,260 male and 23,86,362 female registered voters in Lahore to elect 14 legislators for the National Assembly and 27 for the provincial Assembly.
The ECP has also demarcated areas and localities falling in each constituency.
As per details, more than 53,98,622 voters will use their voting right from Lahore. In Lahore city, around 4000 polling stations will be established separately for male and female voters. There will also be joint polling stations, the sources added.
Although different parties are in the run, but the real contest is expected between the PML-N and PTI which have structured their campaigns in different ways. The PML-N's campaign is about development whereas PTI's election drive is about political honesty and anti-corruption, the sources added.
According to analysts, voters are more concerned about economic issues such as inflation and unemployment. Corruption is an important issue for a sizeable minority but anti-corruption campaigns that do not tackle economic issues are unlikely to resonate. Several public services including education, health, water, electricity and security matter for voters.
Moreover, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) senior leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has said that free, fair and transparent elections cannot be held without suspending local bodies.
"The N-League has started pre-poll rigging in Punjab through local bodies. The N-League local bodies' members and chairmen are undertaking works of N-League candidates and also organizing their public meetings," Elahi said while talking to Muslim League activists. He said for holding fair and transparent elections in Punjab it is essential that local bodies should be completely suspended till July 25.