Plea seeks overseas Pakistanis' right to vote in local elections

LHC seeks govt, ECP's response on voting rights for expatriates in local elections

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court's (LHC) Justice Shahid Karim has sought replies from the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over a plea seeking the right of overseas Pakistanis to vote in local government elections.

The petition, filed by the International Lawyers Association through advocate Azhar Siddique, requests the court to declare the right to vote for every Pakistani citizen as fundamental and absolute in the upcoming local government elections.

The petitioner further urges the court to declare that both the ECP and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) have failed in their statutory duty to enable eligible overseas Pakistanis to exercise their voting rights from abroad.

In the petition, the petitioner contended that the constitutional contract between a citizen and the state is sacred and reciprocal.

The petition asserts that if a citizen is held accountable for failing to adhere to this contract, the State must also be held accountable.

The petitioner argued that the Constitution does not discriminate between overseas Pakistanis and resident Pakistanis, and neither can the ECP or NADRA discriminate between the two.

It was also pointed out that according to Article 51 of the Constitution, all Pakistani citizens, regardless of their residence or locality, are entitled to vote.

Overseas Pakistanis, an integral part of the nation, should not be subjected to prejudice by the legislative bodies of the state, the petition argues.

The deliberate failure of the respondents to adhere to the constitutional mandate could lead to legal consequences in the public interest.