Election results rejected: Aurat Foundation requests re-polling

Only 17,655 out of 164,821 registered women voters participated in the electoral process, says Ayaz.

PESHAWAR: The Aurat Foundation requested the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to declare elections results in those Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) constituencies as null and void where women were barred from voting.

Women were forcibly banned after political parties signed an agreement in certain areas. At the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, Aurat Foundation Resident Director Shabina Ayaz said they had received widespread reports of violations of women’s electoral rights. She said out of 138,910 registered women voters in Upper Dir, only one woman cast her vote in Darora union council (UC). “In Lower Dir, women were prevented in seven constituencies and in Buner, they were not allowed to vote in 17 UCs.

"Only 17,655 out of 164,821 registered women voters participated in the electoral process,” Ayaz said. Women were also barred from voting in Mardan, DI Khan, Nowshera, Battagram and Malakand, she added. The resident director requested the ECP to conduct re-elections in areas where violations occurred and take action against those political parties who supported the ban.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2013.