ECP COMPLETES 1st PHASE OF PREPARATION OF COMPUTERIZED ELECTORAL ROLLS-2011

                     Islamabad, the 8^th March, 2011.-  Mr. Ishtiak Ahmed Khan, Secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan has said that preparation of accurate computerized Electoral Rolls has been a constant demand of all the political parties, civil society, media and the entire nation as it constitutes the corner stone of any credible, free and fair elections. A large number of complaints from all over the country have been pouring in with regard to multiple and bogus entries in the Electoral Rolls-2007 and it was imperative to devise a foolproof system to eliminate any possibility of bogus entries in the electoral rolls. Thus, under the direction of Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner, the Election Commission of Pakistan has been making efforts in this regard for the past one year in collaboration with NADRA to prepare fresh, accurate computerized Electoral Rolls on the basis of database of NADRA pertaining to issuance of Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) to all citizens of Pakistan, above the age of 18 years— a condition also required to be registered as a voter. An action plan, in this regard, was prepared by the ECP comprising three phases, as under:

                   In the wake of receipt of this report, the Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner has directed to expedite the completion of remaining two phases i-e door to door verification and printing of final fresh Computerized Electoral Rolls-2011 till December 2011, to solve this problem once for all. In future, any adult citizen who obtains a CNIC will automatically be registered as a voter. However, the Secretary emphasized that the draft amendments proposed in the Representation of the People’s Act 1976 and the Electoral Rolls Act 1974 to make only the CNIC as a mandatory condition for registration of voters as well as casting of vote, which has already been cleared the Senate’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice, now needs to be passed by the Parliament on immediate basis as that is a pre-requisite for completion of this task of national importance.