In a major reshuffle ahead of the 2018 General Elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) transferred and posted dozens of officers on Wednesday.

A total of 86 officers, including district and regional election commissioners and deputy directors in grades 17 and 18, were transferred via a notification issued today.

Of the transferred officers, nine have been transferred from the ECP Secretariat in Islamabad; 26, including the Lahore regional election commissioner, from Punjab; 13 from Sindh; 14 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and 23 from Balochistan.

Islamabad District Election Commissioner Muhammad Nadeem Zubair has been posted as the regional election commissioner Multan, while Farid Afridi will serve as the regional election commissioner in Lahore.

As the ECP prepares for upcoming elections, it has repeatedly talked about hurdles in the conduct of elections due to a delay in delimitation of constituencies. The Council of Common Interest (CCI) was finally able to break the deadlock on the issue in a recent meeting; however, an amendment has yet to pass from the parliament.