ISLAMABAD, Sept 17: The Election Commission has decided to launch a voter education programme with a view to motivating them to cast their votes.

Sources in the EC told Dawn that the decision followed an apprehension that voter turnout would be low in the forthcoming general elections as people were not motivated enough to come out to use their right to franchise.

The last elections witnessed a turnout of 34.60 per cent. If the turnout on Oct 10 remained the same, the election results would lose their credibility.

An EC announcement said: “It was decided that a full-scale publicity campaign may be started immediately on electronic and print media, laying emphasis on the importance of casting vote by the voters”.

The EC felt it was necessary that a common voter should be properly educated about the voting procedure so that he/she was fully motivated to cast his/her vote on the polling day.

The EC approved a documentary film which would be shown on TV. Copies of the film would also be sent to the provinces where it would be shown to the polling personnel and voters.

Besides, the EC said that it had issued a Manual of Suggestions for polling agents copies of which were sent to all political parties.

The Election Commission hoped that the manual would help the political parties and candidates in imparting training to their polling agents so that they might be able to play their role effectively.