ECP to ensure registration of all eligible women voters before 2018 elections

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will ensure the registration of all eligible women as voters in the electoral rolls before the 2018 general elections.

Addressing the 10th Rural Women Annual conference on Monday, ECP Additional Secretary Dr Akhtar Nazar said that with the support of the National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA), the ECP would ensure that every adult woman had possession of a computerised national identity card (CNIC) in order to be registered with the commission before next year’s election.

He said that the role of political parties, civil society and the media was important to educate the women about the country’s polling system. He also said that the commission would pay special focus on registration of women voters during its annual electoral rolls campaign to be initiated from November.

ECP Additional Director Haroon Shinwari said that the commission would soon start its awareness campaign in 80 districts of the country during which women would be encouraged to get CNIC and register themselves as voters. He said that the ECP would particularly target the women living in rural areas of the country during the ongoing campaign.

It merits mention here that the commission had also arranged an awareness camp to educate women about the voting procedure and other aspects of the election process to allow them to play an effective role in the elections.