Overseas Pakistanis to get voting rights soon: State Minister
"Right to voting for overseas Pakistanis is recognised in principle and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is finalising a formal way to grant them the right to vote," Dr Ehsan said while addressing a cheque distribution ceremony for Kuwait-Iraq war victims.
Around Rs 16.5 million were distributed amongst the affected according to the Supreme Court’s order.
Speaking on the role of the overseas community, Dr Ehsan said, “They are a great asset for our country and have assisted us in every crisis, whether it is a tragic earthquake or gigantic floods in the country."
Managing Director Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) Mohammed Manzoor said that remittances and investment in Pakistan by overseas Pakistanis were playing a vital role in reviving and stabilising the economy of Pakistan.
Earlier in September, an ECP official has said that it was finding it impossible to implement the decision of granting voting rights to overseas Pakistanis.
After lengthy deliberations with stakeholders over the last six months, the ECP concluded that giving the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis will be highly expensive and cannot be supported by the commission’s budget.
Besides the budget, logistics have also proven to be a major hurdle.
COMMENTS (9)
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this news are very sad i m wating for vote Pti
If this is not hypocrisy then what is it? We need their money and vote but we don't want them to make laws for us.
@Zaidu Chaliyya: Lame excuse, just like the Memogate was being spun as a 'civlian vs military' struggle whereas it was a clear cut case of treason. Looks like PPP spin doctors are working overtime these days.
I'm willing to pay 5$ for processing my vote because I know it will cost Pak embassy to organize this kind of task. My advice is that we should be able to cast our vote through mail this seems to be convenient for most of us.
@Zahid Chaliyya There is no hypocrisy. There is tremendous difference in representing and being represented.
@Zaidu Being overseas doesn't necessarily mean they have citizenship of other countries Mr. Einstein. And only those who want to do politics in their country and run for important positions can't possess dual nationality. It's the same law in Egypt also. Stop calling others hypocrites.
About time. Most overseas Pakistanis are highly educated and need to have a share in deciding this country's future.
The hyprocricy of it all. Kick out the Pakistanis who posses dual nationality but give voting rights to overseas ones.
The only catch is -- are you going to charge overseas Pakistanis for their vote? If so, this might result in very low turnout.