ECP to push for women voter registration

Gender laws have become applicable in ex-Fata after merger with K-P

PESHAWAR: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will start a drive to encourage registration of women voters and getting them computerised national identity cards from January 28, officials said.

Laws related to women voters will be applicable to the merged tribal districts for the upcoming elections in the ex-Fata region, gender affairs officer of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said.

The tribesmen will have to give their women the right to vote, otherwise results would be annulled for the constituency.

According to Election Act 2018, if the turnout of women was less than 10 per cent in any constituency, the results are cancelled and re-elections are ordered by the poling officials, ECP Additional Director General (Gender Affairs) Nighat Siddique said.

ECP has started a drive for registering women voters along with the process of delimitation of constituencies in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) after merger with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The tribal areas have been distributed into 16 provincial assembly constituencies spanning from PK100 to PK-115 for which registration of votes is underway. The election commission has formed up special centers for registration of voter in the tribal districts.

Additional DG gender affairs said tribal areas will have general and local body elections as per Election Act 2018 while all election laws since the year 2015 will be applicable. “No relaxation is being given for any election law. The law pertaining to minimum turnout of women for polling will also be applicable for the upcoming elections,” she said.

She said that election result for any constituency with less than 10 per cent women voter turnout will be suspended and a fresh election will be announced.

Siddique further said that a special campaign is being conducted for registration of women voters in tribal areas while meetings with political parties and tribal leaders as well as women are also being held. As per ECP data, women voter turnout for NA-40 Bajaur during general elections 2018 was 26 per cent, NA-41 Bajour had 27 per cent, NA-42 Mohmand had 25 per cent, NA-44 Khyber had 30 per cent, NA-45 Kurram had 16 per cent, NA-46 Kurram had 38 per cent, NA-47 Orakzai had 44 per cent, NA-48 North Waziristan had 36 per cent, NA-49 South Waziristan had 9 per cent, NA-50 South Waziristan had 32 per cent and NA-51 FR Areas had 34 per cent turnout of women voters.

On Thursday, a meeting of Gender and Disability Electoral Working Group with assistance of UNDP was held at a local hotel in Peshawar to enhance turnout of women voters and create awareness among students with regard to electoral process.

The meeting was presided over by K-P Election Commissioner Pir Maqbool Ahmed and ECP Additional DG Gender Affairs Nighat Siddique, K-P Election Commission DG Gender Affairs Haroon Khan Shinwari, representatives of DAI Tabeer and UNDP and students from different institutions including University of Peshawar, Islamia College University, medical colleges, engineering universities and female students from higher secondary schools were among the participants.

During the meeting, a plan was finalised to initiate an awareness campaign regarding enhancing turnout of women voters in the elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2019.