Islamabad, July 16: The Election Commission of Pakistan has appealed voters to cast their mandate enmasse in the upcoming general and provincial polls on July 25. The electorate have been asked to check their vote registration status, along with confirming their electoral area. Here's how to check voter registration number and polling booth:

The most convenient method for eligible voters is to check their registration status by sending a text message at the toll free number - 8300. Voters have been instructed to send their Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) at 8300, without the dash.

After the message gets successfully delivered, the sender will be reverted with with his name, vote registration number and the electoral area. The information will also include their block number, along with the serial number registered with their name in the preliminary electoral roll.

The initiative was introduced by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) - the nodal citizen identification body of Pakistan - in collaboration with the Election Commission.

The second option before the voters is to physically visit the office of District Election Commissioner (DEC). At present, there are four DEC offices in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan respectively. They are located in the provincial capitals of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta.

272 parliamentary seats and 830 seats in the five provincial assemblies will be contested in the elections to be held on July 25. The primary electoral battle is between the incumbent PML-N, led by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's brother Shahbaz Sharif, PTI chief Imran Khan and the PPP led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2018 05:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).