SPEECH BY KANWAR MUHAMMAD DILSHAD, FEDERAL SECRETARY, ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTANIN THE SEMINAR ARRANGED BY “PILDAT†ON ENSURING FREE, FAIR AND CREDIBLE GENERAL ELECTIONS AND EFFECTIVE WOMEN PARTICIPATION.
Islamabad the 16th August, 2006
It is a great pleasure for me to be here in this impressive forum and share my views with you. I can see many distinguished personalities here and I congratulate PILDAT for successfully holding this conference on “Ensuring Free, Fair and Credible General Election and effective women participation”.
Ladies and Gentlemen
The heart of democratic government lies in the electoral process. Elections are important to democracy for their potential to institutionalize mass participation in government according to three normative principles for procedural democracy. Electoral rules specify (1) who is allowed to vote, (2) how much each person’s vote counts, and (3) how many votes are needed to win. Electoral systems decide collectively who governs and, in some instances, what government should do. According to democratic theory, everyone should be able to vote. In practice, however, no nation grants universal suffrage. All countries have age requirements for voting, and all disqualify some inhabitants on various grounds.
As you know the Electoral Rolls is the basic document for conducting any election. The credibility of Electoral Rolls has a direct impact on fairness of any election. It is an internationally admitted fact that if the Electoral Rolls are credible and error free, there shall be marginal room for any suspicion. I feel happy to announce that in our preparation towards the next General elections, we have touched the most important subject of Electoral Rolls right in the beginning.
I may also take this opportunity to share with you that the decision to prepare computerized Electoral Rolls afresh, was based on the recommendations of International election Observers, extensive studies by National, International Election Experts, recommendations by the Field Officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the feed-back from the politicians and general public through press and media.
The present Electoral Rolls were prepared in 2001-2002. According to the law these lists were scrutinized in 2004-05. There have been a lot of changes in the population in last few years and a lot of new localities have also emerged.
Many new districts and localities and administrative units have come up in all four provinces. There are separate lists for General Elections and Local Government Elections. In the light of these above mentioned facts, the preparation of fresh Electoral rolls deemed inevitable.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The Election Commission of Pakistan has devised an extensive strategy for this huge national task. We have pulled together a team of 144 Registration Officers 2,237 Assistant Registration Officers, 28,992 Supervisors and 86,740 Enumerators all over Pakistan who have been given massive training. In addition to that 500 Judges of subordinate Judiciary shall also be deployed as Review Officers (Revising Authorities) in all the districts of Pakistan who shall entertain the Petition and Objections after the publishing of draft electoral rolls.
As I have already pointed out that this is a huge national task and it is a point of great concern for us that we are emphasizing through print and electronic media that women, especially the ones from rural areas who refrain from getting registered as voters should be registered and do not remain deprived of their basic right of self determination. For this purpose, the Election Commission of Pakistan has established a network of 400 NGOs all over Pakistan to address the issues of women voter’s registration in remote areas. We have in our mind that without active participation of women in the political set-up the Pakistan cannot progress and prosper.
In the end I would like to thank all of you for patiently listening to me and giving me an opportunity to highlight upon you the steps taken and being taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan for ensuring free, fair and credible general elections and effective women participation.
Thank you.
K. M. DILSHAD
SECRETARY
ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN
16-08-2006