NA speaker urges youth to register as voters

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has stressed upon the youth who have attained the age of 18 years to get themselves registered as voters.

Qaiser said the youth being a substantial part of the country’s population could play an important role in electoral politics of the country.

He felicitated over 97 million registered voters in the country and many more who would be added in due course on the eve of National Voters Day.

The National Voters Day is celebrated in commemoration of the first general elections in the country, which were held on December 7, 1970.

On this day in 1970, voting took place in 300 constituencies of the National Assembly on general enfranchisement of the Unicameral Parliament of Pakistan.

The primary purpose of commemorating this day is to create awareness among the general public with regard to importance of vote and inclusion of all segments of society in the electoral process.

“This day holds historic significance as for the first time it marked the adult franchise in 1970 based on the principle of one man one vote,” Qaiser said.

The speaker observed that the constitution of the country had acknowledged vote as a right, by explicitly quoting in the preamble that the state shall exercise its powers through the chosen representatives, hence the National Assembly was the repository of the nation’s democratic will. 

Qaiser remarked that there was a need to strive towards democracy that reflected inclusion, accountability and true representative structures.

He said democracy cannot be truly representative of people if all the demographic groups especially women, youth and minorities are not equally made part of the electoral process.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will observe the National Voters’ Day on Monday (today) across the country in a befitting manner to create awareness about importance of registration as voters.

The main event in this regard will be held at ECP Secretariat in the federal capital, which will be addressed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

Events in this regard will also be held at the provincial offices of the ECP in observance of the Covid-19 SOPs.

(With input from APP)