LAHORE: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) claimed that only 6.5 million women are registered as voters in Punjab province and out of those some women may not have their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC).
In a consultation organised by FAFEN on Saturday, FAFEN official Syed Abdul Ahad claimed that CNIC was a basic requirement for voters’ registration. The consultation urged the government to ease the formalities for CNIC registration and authorise local government chairmen and councillors for attestation of citizens’ registration application forms. It also asked NADRA to expand its infrastructure to include more facilitation centres as well as mobile registration vans.
The participants of the consultation agreed to form a provincial committee to enhance the registration of women voters in Punjab. The committee will take up the issue with National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
Chief Executive Officer Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA)-FAFEN Shahid Fiaz termed the gap between male and female voters as one of the major electoral issues. He called upon stakeholders to coordinate their efforts and form a committee to take up registration issues with the concerned authorities.
Ruling party MNA Shaista Pervez Malik told the consultation that getting CNICs for citizens is a process that requires improvements. She said that bureaucratic hurdles and NADRA’s lethargy were the major causes this and it needs to be addressed urgently. She said that ECP should pressurise NADRA to register as many citizens as possible before the upcoming general elections.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Saadia Sohail complained of NADRA staff’s attitude towards people who wait for hours in long queues. She said that CNIC is also a requirement for opening a bank account and registration of marriage.
Hussain Naqi, who represented the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), said that the current infrastructure of NADRA is not capable to register 6.5 million women. He proposed that the ECP should issue voter cards to citizens, as is done in India.
ECP Deputy Director Rai Sultan Bhatti said that the ECP made a Gender Affairs Wing to lessen the gender gap. He also emphasised the urgent need for coordinated efforts of civil society, political parties, NADRA and media to minimise this gap. He added by saying that there are procedural matters which have to be taken care of, census blocks are not fully digitized and if census is done timely, this gap will definitely be minimised.
Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA)-FAFEN Chief Executive Officer Shahid Fiaz, ruling party MNA Shaista Pervez Malik, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Saadia Sohail, senior journalist Hussain Naqi and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Deputy Director Rai Sultan Bhatti were present on the occasion.
