PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman on Friday highlighted the importance of vote, saying its judicious use could change the destiny of a nation and help strengthen democratic norms.

He expressed these views as a chief guest in a ceremony held at the Governor House in connection with the National Voters Day, which was observed on December 7 every year.

The event was arranged by the Election Commission of Pakistan with the objective to create awareness among the masses of importance of vote.

Functions held across KP to observe National Voters Day

The ceremony was attended by ECP member retired Justice Irshad Qaiser, provincial election commissioner Pir Maqbol Ahmad, teachers and students of varsities and representatives of civil society.

The governor said that the use of vote could bring positive change and lead the country and its people towards prosperity and development. He said that people should use their vote with honesty and sincerity.

Earlier, retired Justice Irshad Qaiser and Maqbol Ahmad highlighted the importance of participation in electoral process, awareness of voting and efforts of the election commission.

The ECP member said that the commission was taking concrete steps for ensuring mass participation in the electoral process. She said that turnout was recorded as almost 50 per cent which could be enhanced in future.

Besides, she said that Federal Election Academy had been set up to impart necessary training to the concerned officers and other staff members. An awareness walk in this regard was also led by the KP governor.

To mark the day, seminars, walks and speech competitions among students of various educational institutions were also held. The events were aimed at creating awareness among the people, especially youth and women, so they could register themselves as voters and fulfil their national duty in the future elections.

Functions were also held in FAST University and Sarhad University of Science and Technology, Peshawar, to highlight the importance of vote.

In Timergara, Lower Dir office of the Election Commission of Pakistan organised a function at the district council hall to mark the National Voters’ Day. It was attended by officials of government departments, councillors, teachers and students.

Speaking on the occasion, district election commissioner Noor Said Khan and others said that taking part in voting was a national obligation of every citizen. The speakers said that honest and devoted public representatives could only be chosen through vote.

The district election commissioner asked the participants to inform the people to register their vote as soon as possible. The participants also held a walk in this regard in Balambat.

In Khar, participants of a function stressed the need for joint efforts to create awareness of the importance of vote in Bajaur tribal district.

The function was held at Governor’s Model School. District election commissioner Pervez Iqbal said that a small percentage of population had registered their vote in the electoral list in Bajaur.

He said that registration of voters launched on Nov 18 was in progress.

In Landi Kotal, speakers at a function stressed the need for registration of more voters, especially female voters, prior to holding of elections for the local government and provincial assembly seats in 2019.

Officials of the election commission, local administration and education department along with local elders attended the function held in Jamrud.

Mohammad Nadeem Khan, election commissioner for Khyber, said that voter registration throughout the country was a continuous process and its importance was reminded time and again owing to sudden holding of by-elections for any provincial or National Assembly constituency or for the vacant posts of local governments.

In Battagram, an awareness function was held where students in their speeches highlighted the importance of vote. District nazim Attaur Rehman and district election commissioner Zeeshan Khan also attended the function.

The nazim said that people should register their votes so they could elect competent leaders to address their problems.

In Shangla, speakers at a seminar urged the residents to ensure registration of women voters in the ongoing campaign to enable them to poll votes in elections and play role in progress of the country.

The seminar was organised by the district election commission in Alpuri on Friday to celebrate December 7 as National Voters Day.

In Mingora, speakers said that women were half of the population and no nation in the world without their help could form civilised and peaceful form of the government. They were speaking in a ceremony to mark the voters’ day.

Regional Election Commissioner Javed Iqbal, district election commissioner Ijaz Ahmad and Swat DC were also among the participants of the function where a speech competition titled “The ballot is stronger than the bullet, use your right to vote and make your country stronger” was also held.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018