Experts call for youth participation in voting process

All eligible citizens, especially the youth, must participate in the electoral process on election day for changing the destiny of the country, participants of a National Voters Day dialogue organised by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) said on Thursday.

PILDAT President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, chaired two-panel discussions titled 'How to Ensure Upcoming General Elections Are Free, Fair, and Credible. Theme of the second panel was 'Youth Voter Education & Information; how to Increase Youth Voter Participation'.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Public Policy & Strategic Communications Fahad Husain remarked that the next elections must be free, fair, and transparent as they would determine the “stability of our nation and the trajectory of the country” over the next few years.

Speaking on the occasion, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Media and Outreach Wing representative Haroon Shinwari outlined some of the measures the polls supervisor was taking to make elections fair and credible.

The ECP had spent Rs47 million on awareness efforts to ensure inclusion, one of the determinants of a legitimate election. For the 2023 elections, there would be a total of 100,000 polling stations across the country, while a real-time results technology had been tested and would be used in the next general election, he said.

Journalist Talat Hussain highlighted the importance of the potential fairness of the 2023 elections by describing some of the challenges voters experience at the polls. Voters demand a more streamlined election process, particularly in terms of logistics, to be at peace, he said.

Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Commerce and Industry Rana Ihsan Afzal Khan encouraged youngsters to participate in the election process. He also underlined the significance of local governments, as they would engage the youth and solve their concerns at the local level.