Link voter registration to CNIC issuance: PILDAT
ECP and Nadra should work on a system to register voters at the time they are issued their computerised CNICs.
LAHORE:
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) should work on a system to register voters at the time they are issued their computerised national identity cards (CNICs).
This was recommended at a Roundtable Discussion on Electoral Reforms in Pakistan: Monitoring and Implementation of ECP’s Five Year Strategic Plan organised by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) on Tuesday.
The speakers recommended that the Nadra ensure that the people eligible to vote had a CNIC. They said that the authority should come up with a clear timeframe for issuing CNICs.
Sheikh Jalil, the ECP deputy secretary, told the participants that the ECP was preparing new voters’ lists in collaboration with the Nadra. A pilot project, he said, in one district from each province had already begun but the recent floods have delayed the work.
To stop executive from influencing the elections, the speakers recommended, that the president and governors should be barred from making public statements and attending rallies or meetings in support of any political party.
They said that judges should not be appointed as election commissioners immediately after their retirement.
They suggested that the ECP should consult political parties and take their opinion on conduct of polls. They said that the number of polling stations should be increased.
On a query about parliamentarians’ assets, the ECP deputy secretary said that it was not possible to place the record on the ECP website. A recent Pildat report on increases in legislators’ assets had earlier met strong criticism from politicians.
Jalil said that the ECP hoped to use some electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next general election. The ECP, he said, had suggested their use in by-elections.
He said that some universities including the Air University had shown interest in making EVMs. The price of an EVM, he added, was likely to be around Rs40,000.
He said that the ECP had on June 29, 2010, organised a programme to brief members of political parties and civil society on the use of the EVMs.
The discussion was attended, besides others, by former Punjab governor Shahid Hamid, publisher Mujeebur Rehman Shami and TV presenter Iftikhar Ahmed. Prof Hassan Askari Rizvi, former Lahore High Court Bar Association president Justice (r ) Nasira Javed Iqbal, Jamate Islami’s Farid Paracha and Samea Raheel Qazi and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf’s Umar Cheema were also present.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2010.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) should work on a system to register voters at the time they are issued their computerised national identity cards (CNICs).
This was recommended at a Roundtable Discussion on Electoral Reforms in Pakistan: Monitoring and Implementation of ECP’s Five Year Strategic Plan organised by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) on Tuesday.
The speakers recommended that the Nadra ensure that the people eligible to vote had a CNIC. They said that the authority should come up with a clear timeframe for issuing CNICs.
Sheikh Jalil, the ECP deputy secretary, told the participants that the ECP was preparing new voters’ lists in collaboration with the Nadra. A pilot project, he said, in one district from each province had already begun but the recent floods have delayed the work.
To stop executive from influencing the elections, the speakers recommended, that the president and governors should be barred from making public statements and attending rallies or meetings in support of any political party.
They said that judges should not be appointed as election commissioners immediately after their retirement.
They suggested that the ECP should consult political parties and take their opinion on conduct of polls. They said that the number of polling stations should be increased.
On a query about parliamentarians’ assets, the ECP deputy secretary said that it was not possible to place the record on the ECP website. A recent Pildat report on increases in legislators’ assets had earlier met strong criticism from politicians.
Jalil said that the ECP hoped to use some electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next general election. The ECP, he said, had suggested their use in by-elections.
He said that some universities including the Air University had shown interest in making EVMs. The price of an EVM, he added, was likely to be around Rs40,000.
He said that the ECP had on June 29, 2010, organised a programme to brief members of political parties and civil society on the use of the EVMs.
The discussion was attended, besides others, by former Punjab governor Shahid Hamid, publisher Mujeebur Rehman Shami and TV presenter Iftikhar Ahmed. Prof Hassan Askari Rizvi, former Lahore High Court Bar Association president Justice (r ) Nasira Javed Iqbal, Jamate Islami’s Farid Paracha and Samea Raheel Qazi and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf’s Umar Cheema were also present.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2010.