Enrolment of voters to continue until poll schedule: CEC
ISLAMABAD, June 29: The draft computerised electoral rolls are being prepared in accordance with the Electoral Rolls Act of 1974, which expressly provides that the rolls shall contain the national identity card number of all voters, according to Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Qazi Mohammad Farooq.
He said in a statement that the process would be completed in three phases, adding that the first phase had commenced throughout the country with door-to-door enumeration. He said that names of only those voters had been entered, who possessed NIC or CNIC, as provided in Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act of 1976.
The second phase commenced with publication of computerised electoral rolls for inviting claims (for inclusion), objections (for deletion), and applications (for corrections).
Currently, the rolls were being displayed at more than 45,000 centres all over the country to enable eligible voters to apply for corrections within 21 days -- before July 3.
The CEC clarified that legal provisions of the Section 10 of Electoral Rolls Act 1974 regarding the deadline for corrections were too strict to be relaxed without an amendment.
The third phase, he said, would commence with the final publication of computerised electoral rolls in the first week of September, which would continue till the announcement of the election schedule.
During that phase, eligible people whose names could not be enrolled as voters during the second phase, could get their names enrolled under Section 18 of the Electoral Rolls Act of 1974 by filing an application, providing their particulars like the number of national identity card along with a copy of it to the assistant election commission or the deputy election commissioner posted in their districts.
Referring to the difference in the number of people registered as voters in 2006-07 and the electoral rolls prepared in 2002, the CEC said that it was because the current rolls contained names of eligible voters possessing NIC or CNICs issued by Nadra.
He said it had been decided that during the third phase, mobile teams would be sent to areas hit by recent rains to enrol eligible voters having NICs or CNICs.
The CEC said that people filing claims for inclusion of their names or corrections in electoral rolls would not have to appear before the revising authority.
He said that it was desired that no eligible person was deprived of the right to vote.—PPI
