Pakistan

JI urges ECP to improve access for women voters

Seeks more polling stations, female staff to help women exercise right to suffrage

Our Correspondent September 15, 2017

A woman casts her vote in Peshawar. Women are barred by the local people, however, to go to polling stations in the tribal areas. PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has submitted a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), seeking improved access of women to the polling stations.

“Lack of required number of female staffers and even less number of polling stations for women affects the transparency of the voting process,” the letter read.

ECP to hold re-election if women barred from voting

In the last general elections, female political agents from different parties were seen convincing women to vote for their parties against their own will, the letter read, urging ECP to ensure that a similar incident was not reported in the next elections.

The letter further read that in the last general elections, a total of 2,187 women polling stations had been setup which were insufficient and led to a large number of women not casting their votes.

It read that the ECP should make arrangements to register women, not having Computerized National Identify Card (CNIC), before the upcoming general elections.

“ECP needs to increase the number of its registration offices, so that no woman is deprived of her voting right,” the letter stated, adding that special facilities should be provided to women voters at all polling stations.

For women in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), JI argued that a vast majority of women was still not holding national
identity card.

They called on the ECP to direct NADRA to work towards registering these women and issue identity cards to them.

In addition, helpers and observers should be deputed at polling stations to help women cast their votes correctly and stop political agents from convincing them.

PM assures equal participation of women in democratic process

Currently, there were more than 12 million registered voters in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Of which, over seven million are men while more than 5 million are women, the letter read.

According to the provisional census report, the male population in K-P stood at 10.5 million while female members were around 10.53 million.

Jamaat-e- Islami was accused of barring women from casting their votes in PK-95 constituency in Lower Dir held last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2017.