PESHAWAR, Oct 11: The government decision to fix the age-limit for voters at 18 could not help improve the turnout in the NWFP.

Polling staff at various booths in Charsadda, Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan and Swabi told Dawn that the voters’ age reduction from 21 to 18 had no impact on the turnout.

Polling agents of different candidates said that most of the voters could not use their right of franchise because of the identity card’s restriction.

“Nadra could not ensure provision of identity cards to the youth hence the age relaxation could not help improve the turnout in the NWFP,” said a polling agent.

Besides, many voters could not vote due to errors in the electoral lists and the setting up of polling stations at ‘wrong’ sites in various districts, according to the polling staff.

Interviews with dozens of presiding officers in Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera and Peshawar districts showed that a large number of voters could not cast their votes due to ‘multiple’ errors in the electoral lists.

In many instances registration numbers of the newly issued computerized identity cards were not mentioned.

Polling staff in Mardan complained that the names of many voters belonging to the union council Baghdada were wrongly mentioned in the electoral lists of the union councils Misri Abad and Guli Bagh. Identical error was also reported in the Nowshera district depriving many of their voting right.

“I have visited two polling stations but could not find my name in the electoral list,” said a Peshawar-based officer of the provincial government, who belongs to the Nowshera district. Creation of a greater number of polling stations also caused confusion among voters as they were seen looking for the exact polling station to cast their votes.