SMS service on the cards to check status of one’s vote
For a nominal fee, the electoral body will facilitate voters with new verification system.
ISLAMABAD:
The election authorities claim to be in the process of developing a system, purportedly the first of its kind in the world, to assist all registered voters to verify the status of their vote with the click of the ‘send’ button on their cell phones.
Through the service, registered voters will be able to check the status of their vote and particulars through SMS for a nominal fee. All voters will have to do is text their computerised national identity card (CNIC) number to a number provided by the Election Commission.
An official of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) told The Express Tribune that the project was in its final stages and would be launched in January next year when draft electoral rolls would be on display nationwide at 50,000 display centres for verification.
“The data of around 85 million people registered as voters would be available in the system. The sender will be required to send their CNIC number to a specific number and will subsequently receive a message of around 160 characters in Urdu. It will have the name, village/city, tehsil and district of the particular voter and location where the vote is registered to confirm where his/her name is registered as a voter,” the official in charge of the project said. The official added that the house number of voters will be kept confidential to ensure privacy and avoid misuse of the service.
“The facility would help the general public to check the status of their vote from home now,” the ECP official said.
The official went on to explain that in case a discrepancy arose or a complaint was made by voters, officials deputed at display centres will provide forms to rectify errors.
ECP Joint Secretary Muhammad Afzal Khan told The Express Tribune that Pakistan would probably be the first country in the world to introduce this feature to voters. Khan said that after the introduction of the new facility it would be the responsibility of every eligible voter to make sure that his/her vote had been registered and furthermore to report any discrepancy if they happened to encounter one.
Khan added that even though the commission had initially considered providing the SMS service free of charge, it decided that nominal charges would be applicable to avoid any misuse by the public and choking of the telecom network, adding that the fee would be decided later by the commission.
The electoral draft rolls being prepared by the ECP in coordination with the National Database and Registration Authority will continue to register voters even after the finalisation of the voters list to accommodate voters who received their CNICs after the draft rolls were prepared, the ECP official said. “A citizen can register till the schedule for elections is announced,” the official added.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2011.
The election authorities claim to be in the process of developing a system, purportedly the first of its kind in the world, to assist all registered voters to verify the status of their vote with the click of the ‘send’ button on their cell phones.
Through the service, registered voters will be able to check the status of their vote and particulars through SMS for a nominal fee. All voters will have to do is text their computerised national identity card (CNIC) number to a number provided by the Election Commission.
An official of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) told The Express Tribune that the project was in its final stages and would be launched in January next year when draft electoral rolls would be on display nationwide at 50,000 display centres for verification.
“The data of around 85 million people registered as voters would be available in the system. The sender will be required to send their CNIC number to a specific number and will subsequently receive a message of around 160 characters in Urdu. It will have the name, village/city, tehsil and district of the particular voter and location where the vote is registered to confirm where his/her name is registered as a voter,” the official in charge of the project said. The official added that the house number of voters will be kept confidential to ensure privacy and avoid misuse of the service.
“The facility would help the general public to check the status of their vote from home now,” the ECP official said.
The official went on to explain that in case a discrepancy arose or a complaint was made by voters, officials deputed at display centres will provide forms to rectify errors.
ECP Joint Secretary Muhammad Afzal Khan told The Express Tribune that Pakistan would probably be the first country in the world to introduce this feature to voters. Khan said that after the introduction of the new facility it would be the responsibility of every eligible voter to make sure that his/her vote had been registered and furthermore to report any discrepancy if they happened to encounter one.
Khan added that even though the commission had initially considered providing the SMS service free of charge, it decided that nominal charges would be applicable to avoid any misuse by the public and choking of the telecom network, adding that the fee would be decided later by the commission.
The electoral draft rolls being prepared by the ECP in coordination with the National Database and Registration Authority will continue to register voters even after the finalisation of the voters list to accommodate voters who received their CNICs after the draft rolls were prepared, the ECP official said. “A citizen can register till the schedule for elections is announced,” the official added.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2011.