LAHORE: Speakers at an interactive session, organised by the ECP at the University of Engineering and Technology here on Friday, urged people from all walks of life, particularly students, persons with disabilities and women, to become part of the electoral process by using their fundamental right to vote.
Director Media Coordination and Outreach (MCO) Islamabad Qurat-ul-Ain Fatima, speaking at the session, “ECP, Students, Voter Education and Awareness Programme”, said the Election Commission of Pakistan was an independent body which was mandated to ensure conduct of free, fair, impartial and inclusive elections in the country.
She said the ECP was running campaigns in urban as well as rural areas to sensitise people to use their fundamental right to vote. There had always been less participation in the voting process by women whether in big cities or small towns, she said adding that among more than 110 million registered voters in the country, 55 per cent were men and only 45 per cent women. She said that the ECP was custodian of the voters’ right to vote and appealed to women to come forward and use their right to vote.
She asked students aged 18 and above to register themselves in voter lists and use their right to vote and they should send their National Identity Card number to 8300 to know their status as a voter.
To a question about the use of electronic voting machines in the general election, she said that the decision about method of voting had to be taken by the parliament with consensus. However the ECP was bound to follow the decision, taken by the parliament, she added.
District Officer ECP Shahid Islam and others also spoke. Registrar UET Muhammad Asif and a good number of students participated in the session.