Pak polls: Punjab police to acquire 29,000 CCTVs worth PKR 1.35 billion

Punjab: The police in Pakistan's Punjab province are set to acquire 29000 CCTV cameras worth Pakistani rupees (PKR) 1.35 billion for monitoring of general elections 2024, ARY News reported on Sunday.
According to the report, the agreement between Safe City Authority, Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), and National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) was signed in the presence of Punjab IG on the directions of caretaker CM, Mohsin Naqvi.
Punjab IG Usman Anwar said the cameras will be the property of the provincial government after the elections.
The top cop said the cameras are equipped with night vision technology which will help smooth monitoring of the whole electoral process.
Earlier on Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) conducted another mock test of the Election Management System (EMS) to be used for the upcoming February 8 general elections, Dawn reported.
The ECP described the trial as successful.
The election body said the system designed for the tabulation and compilation of election results successfully completed all the required steps and goals.
According to ECP spokesman Syed Nadeem Haider, returning officers from 859 constituencies across the country participated in the experimental exercise of EMS, and the system's eligibility was tested both online and offline and was found to be satisfactory in all respects.
He added that the main purpose of EMS was the tabulation and compilation of election results and it would be used on polling day, according to Dawn.
The ECP recently concluded the training of nearly 1.49 million election staff to guarantee the smooth conduct of the forthcoming general elections, which are slated to take place on February 8, according to ARY News.
In a statement, the ECP spokesperson stated that the training sessions ensured that all electoral staff could carry out their obligations competently and professionally in the future general elections in 2024.
According to the commission's spokeswoman, a total of 27,676 sessions were held in distant places around the country over 87 days, with 3,821 master trainers involved in thorough election worker training, reported ARY News.
The training sessions began on November 19, 2023, and ended on the evening of February 3, 2024.
The participants in these courses were 144 District Returning Officers (DROs), 859 Returning Officers (ROs), and polling personnel.