Voting right for expats only after pilot experiment

Cabinet decides to reverse legislation on electoral reforms

ISLAMABAD:

The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved an election amendment bill aiming to reverse the PTI-era legislation which had granted voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and made it compulsory to hold elections through electronic voting machines (EVMs), deciding that pilot projects should determine the fate of both the proposals.

The cabinet, while according approval to The Election (Amendment) Bill, 2022, directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to first launch a pilot project for overseas Pakistanis to vote in the by-elections.

A report on the results of the pilot project shall be tabled in parliament after which a decision will be taken whether the voting procedure for overseas Pakistanis is workable or not.

Also, the cabinet has directed the ECP to launch pilot project for EVMs and biometric verification in the by-elections, ruling that the report on the results of the pilot project tabled in parliament would help in taking the decision whether the EVMs and biometric verification system are viable or not.

“Electronic voting machines and voting procedures for overseas Pakistanis must first be tested as a pilot project,” the cabinet ruled while giving approval for presenting the bill in the National Assembly. It said ECP’s report regarding EVMs and granting voting rights to overseas Pakistanis should be considered.

The cabinet termed the overseas Pakistanis as a valuable asset of the country and said that it was important to include them in the election process. In this regard, it said that the previous government enacted legislation without taking the ECP into confidence.

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In the summary, the cabinet noted that since the ECP has indicated technical difficulties to embark upon conducting elections as per provisions relating to I-voting and EVMs, it is proposed that Section 94 (voting by overseas Pakistanis) and 103 (electronic voting and biometric verification) of the Elections Act, 2017, may be amended or substituted.

The cabinet said that the changes were aimed at restoring amendments incorporated to the original contents of the 2017 act for deliberations in parliament on the basis of result of future pilot projects.

Currently, Section 94 states that notwithstanding anything contained in the Act or rules made thereunder, the Commission shall, with the technical assistance of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), any other authority or agency, enable overseas Pakistanis, in prescribed manner, subject to secrecy and security, to exercise their right to vote during general elections in Pakistan.

The proposed substitution in Section 94 states: “The Commission may conduct pilot projects for voting by Overseas Pakistanis in by-elections to ascertain the technical efficacy, secrecy, security and financial feasibility of such voting and shall share the results with the Government, which shall, within fifteen days from the commencement of a session of a House after the receipt of the report, lay the same before both Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).”

Similarly, the existing provision of Section 103 states that notwithstanding anything contained in the Act or rules made thereunder, the Commission shall, with the technical assistance of any authority, or agency, procure and use in prescribed manner, subject to secrecy and security, stand-alone electronic voting machines in general elections in Pakistan.

The proposed section 103 states: “The Commission may conduct pilot projects for utilization of electronic voting machines and biometric verification system in by-elections in addition to the existing manual procedures for voter verification, casting and counting of votes to assess the technical efficacy, secrecy, security and financial feasibility of the electronic voting machines and biometric verification system and shall share the result with the Government, which shall, within fifteen days from the commencement of a session of a House after the receipt of the report, lay the same before both Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).”