Home Latest News ECP Says Ready to Hold Elections By October’s End

ECP Says Ready to Hold Elections By October’s End

Electoral body urges people to check their voter registration data and correct record if any mistakes or errors

by Staff Report

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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday said it is ready to conduct the next general elections by the end of October this year, but stressed that any decision on this issue will be taken by the incumbent government.

In a press conference, ECP Secretary Umar Hameed said the electoral body had commenced its delimitation exercise in line with the 2017 Census results, adding that preliminary electoral rolls were on display at over 20,000 centers nationwide to facilitate the general public. People can also receive details of their votes on their mobile phones by sending a free SMS to 8300 with their CNIC number, he said.

Urging people to visit the display centers if they needed to correct their record or reverse the removal of anyone’s name, he said the disposal of claims, objections and applications for correction by revising authorities would conclude on July 7. The process of printing of the final electoral rolls would be completed by Aug. 12 this year, he added. The preparation of error-free and credible electoral rolls was an important step toward free, fair and transparent elections, he emphasized.

According to the secretary, door-to-door verification from Nov. 7 to Dec. 31, 2021 had confirmed the data of 98.49 million voters at either permanent or temporary addresses, while four million voters had been excluded from the voter lists as they were reported deceased. The total number of eligible voters, he said, had reached 120.48 million, with 65.6 million male and 54.8 million voters.

If the government completes its digital census by Dec. 31, he said, polls could be held on its basis by August 2023. In case of a delay however, he stressed, conducting general elections by that time would not be possible.

To a question, he denied as baseless allegations that the ECP had “changed” voter registration data of several citizens without prior intimation and had also moved polling stations to inconvenient locations. He noted that a little under a million people, who could not be verified during a campaign earlier this year, had been enrolled at their permanent addresses to ensure they were not disenfranchised and this might have resulted in some changes to their registration data. He reiterated that they should avail this time to get their data fixed as per their requirements.

Hameed also emphasized that the ECP was not a political institution and would continue to do its work as per law, fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities. “The ECP is not a political institution and we work under rules and obey the Constitution of Pakistan,” he said, adding that all decisions were based on law and legislation. As an independent and autonomous body, the ECP’s responsibility was to conduct transparent and fair elections, he said, adding it is carrying out its work as per the orders of the Supreme Court.

On the issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs), the secretary said work was ongoing on the viability of the technology. “NADRA is reviewing the system and the pilot project of EVMs was not grounded,” he said, stressing this required a lot of testing and was not a “simple task” like just purchasing machines.

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