Voters to cast vote in constituency on CNIC in 2018 polls: ECP

Additional Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday said that in next general election the voters would cast their vote in the constituency of which he/she has given address on CNIC.
Addressing a media workshop here, he said that ECP is
introducing electoral reforms while keeping in view the past experiences,
adding that except the government servants all the voters would cast vote in
their own constituency.
He said that ECP remained fully engaged in meeting of
parliamentary committee on election reforms and floated various suggestions to
ensure transparent election in future.
He said that after thorough deliberations the Election Act
2017 was approved and now the ECP would draft rules under this act.
Zafar Iqbal said that under the act, all the officials to be
deployed on election duty would take oath to ensure transparent casting of
vote, adding provincial election commissioners would take oath from all
district returning officers while district election officers would take oath
from returning officers.
He said that under the act a formula has been drafted for
printing of ballot papers and the returning officer would seal record of
tempering in election in an evident bag to keep it preserve for future
investigation.
On the occasion Director General Election Muhammad Yousaf
Khattak briefed the media about new election act 2017 and told that if vote
count remains less than 10 percent in any constituency ECP would declare the
election result null and void for that constituency.
He further said that the data of voter lists is now shifted
to ECP from NADRA and as per the data the overall vote bank would be over 100
million. He said that any candidate or his agent can obtain a copy of voters’
list from ECP through a formal application.
He said that after May 1st, 2018 the previous voters’ list
would stand cancelled and sitting assemblies would complete the terms by June
1st, 2018.
Director MIS Haider Ali said that use of technology in NA-4
Peshawar by-poll proved very helpful in finalizing the election results.
Additional Director General Gender Affairs Nighat Saddiqui
told the participants of workshop that ECP is taking steps to ensure
participation of all segments of society, adding that district voters’
education committees have been activated at district level. She hoped an
increase in turn out in next general elections.
She said that as per the ECP data women voting was less in
79 constituencies of the country where the commission has decided now to
arrange mobile vans with the collaboration of NADRA for registration of votes
of the women.
The spokesman of EC Haroon Shinwari said that ECP is fully
ready for general elections at any time. He said that since the population
census has been completed therefore delimitation has become imperative now.
To a question, Additional Secretary told media that the
estimated cost for conduct of election process has also been increased.
He said that ECP is going to celebrate national voters’ day
on December 7 where awareness and sensitization would be created among media,
civil society and general public.
The workshop was attended by media representatives from
Peshawar. A total five sessions were
held and media persons were briefed about electoral reforms. Provincial
Election Commissioner Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pir Maqbool Ahmed also attended the
workshop.

Source: APP