How to Check an Election Result in Pakistan: ECP Forms 45, 47 and 49 Explained
Learn what ECP Forms 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49 show, who prepares each and where by-election result forms are posted, so you can check a Pakistan result yourself.
Short answer: Pakistan's election results come in five forms. Form 45 is the count at each polling station, Form 46 is the ballot paper account, Form 47 is the provisional result for the constituency, Form 48 is the consolidation and Form 49 is the final result. For recent by-elections the ECP posts these forms on its by-elections page.
A result on a TV ticker is a number somebody read from a piece of paper. That paper has a name, a form number and signatures. Anyone who wants to check a result, or to understand a dispute, needs to know which form to ask for.
We opened the ECP's Bye-Elections 2024 to 2026 page and the Election Rules, 2017, on 12 October 2026. The page links forms for NA-168 Bahawalpur-V and PS-30 Khairpur-V. The files themselves are scans, so we describe each form from the rules, not from the scans.
Form 45 is the count at one polling station
Under rule 81, the Presiding Officer prepares Form 45, the "Result of the Count", for the polling station. It lists each candidate, valid votes from the ballot box, challenged and tendered votes, the total, and the signature of each candidate's polling agent. It also carries a gender-segregated turnout statement.
A copy goes into a sealed packet labelled "Result of the Count". Challenged and tendered votes have their own columns on the form, so they do not hide in the main total.
| Form | Who prepares it | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Form 45 | Presiding Officer | Result of the count at one polling station |
| Form 46 | Presiding Officer | Ballot paper account for the polling station |
| Form 47 | Returning Officer | Provisional result for the constituency, excluding postal ballots |
| Form 48 | Returning Officer | Consolidation of the polling station results |
| Form 49 | Returning Officer | Final consolidated result sent to the ECP |
Form 47 is the first constituency result and it excludes postal ballots
Rule 84 says the Returning Officer prepares the provisional consolidated statement, Form 47, from the polling station results. He announces it before the candidates, agents or observers present and puts a copy on the wall of his office. The scanned form must reach the ECP by 2:00 am the day after polling.
The form states the polling stations, registered voters, votes polled, valid votes, votes excluded and the percentage polled, then the votes for each candidate. Postal ballots are not in it. Postal votes are not in Form 47.
If results are incomplete at 2:00 am, the Returning Officer must tell the ECP why and list the polling stations still awaited.
Form 49 is the final result that leads to the notification
Rule 85 has the Returning Officer consolidate polling station results in Form 48, after he checks the ballot papers excluded from the count. Rule 88 then says the Final Consolidated Result goes to the ECP in Form 49, for the declaration of the result and publication of the returned candidate's name in the Gazette.
Form 49 lists the registered voters and the valid votes of each candidate. When a close race is in dispute, this is the form people compare with Forms 45.
The ECP's own by-election page for PS-30 Khairpur-V links Forms 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49 one by one. For NA-168 Bahawalpur-V it links Form 47 and a folder of Forms 45 to 49. Our report on the NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election result gives the outcome those forms support.
How to find and read the forms for a constituency
Open the ECP by-elections page, find the constituency and look for the forms under its heading. Then check the totals against the polling station you care about. The rules say the Returning Officer must make sure each Form 45 is arithmetically error-free before accepting it, which is a useful thing to look for.
- Open the ECP's Bye-Elections 2024 to 2026 page.
- Find the constituency heading, such as NA-168 Bahawalpur-V.
- Open Form 47 for the provisional constituency result.
- Open Form 45 for your own polling station, if it is posted.
- Compare the Form 47 total with the sum of the Form 45 results you can see.
- Open Form 49 to confirm the final consolidated result.
You will find your polling station through the 8300 text service. Our guide on checking your vote and polling station shows the reply format.
Common questions
What is Form 45 in a Pakistani election?
It is the Result of the Count for one polling station, prepared by the Presiding Officer under rule 81 of the Election Rules, 2017.
What is the difference between Form 47 and Form 49?
Form 47 is the provisional result for the whole constituency, excluding postal ballots. Form 49 is the final consolidated result sent to the ECP.
When must the provisional result reach the ECP?
By 2:00 am on the day after polling, under rule 84(4). If it is incomplete, the Returning Officer must explain the delay to the ECP.
Where can I see these forms?
On the ECP website, on the by-elections page, under the constituency's heading. Not every constituency has every form posted.
Do these forms apply to local government elections?
We read the rules for assembly elections and did not confirm which forms apply to local polls, so ask the ECP before relying on them.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
We read the ECP Bye-Elections 2024 to 2026 page and the Election Rules, 2017, as updated to 23 November 2021, on 12 October 2026. The posted forms are scanned images that we could not read as text. Check the ECP page for the current files.
About the author
Senior Writer, Public Services and Technology
Shahid joined us in 2024 as an author. He is a senior contributor to Pakistan's leading technology websites. He writes detailed articles, mostly covering his expertise in the latest tech, mobiles, apps, gadgets, and step-by-step guides. His ideology is to help people understand the latest trends and explain complex methods through very easy-to-understand guides.
