- 48,792 prisoners appeal to CEC for postal ballot
As many as 48,792 prisoners housed in 32 jails of the Punjab appealed to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to allow them to exercise their right to vote in the forthcoming general elections through postal ballot.
Lahore High Court Bar Association former president Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry and the relatives of the inmates said on Thursday that a majority of prisoners were registered voters and should not be deprived of their constitutional right of casting vote in the coming polls.
They said that if CEC or Supreme Court chief justice issued directions to returning officers then they could obtain postal ballot and send back to returning officers concerned.
When contacted, Punjab Inspector General of Prisons Mian Farooq Nazeer said, “We will abide by the instructions of Election Commission of Pakistan in true letter and spirit in this regard, but majority of prisoners do not have computerised national identity cards and it would be difficult for the superintendent jail to verify the genuineness of prisoners in absence of original CNIC.”
In return they will receive a relaxation in their jail terms once their voted party comes into power.
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