ISLAMABAD: A mere 6, 319 overseas Pakistanis aspiring to participate in the i-voting for the October 14 by-elections in 37 constituencies have registered themselves as voters.
According to data issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), so far 9, 965 expatriate Pakistanis accessed the Overseas System through the internet and created their accounts, of them 6, 319 were registered as i-voters.
The number of the expats who have registered themselves as of Sept 15 is far less than potential 7, 32,000 voters who are eligible to vote in the by-polls through the internet.
It is important to note that the overseas Pakistanis who fall under the constituencies where the by-elections are to be held are eligible to register themselves with the electoral body.
A day earlier, the ECP extended the deadline for the registration of overseas Pakistanis till 9:00 am on Monday to register as many voters as possible.
The ECP earlier this week dismissed concerns over the i-voting which will enable Pakistanis living abroad to vote in the by-elections scheduled to be held on Oct 14.
Speaking at a press conference, ECP’s spokesperson Nadeem Qasim had rejected the claim that the Commission was acting hastily to allow expatriate Pakistanis to exercise their right to franchise through the software.
He said it was a right of the overseas Pakistani to vote and called on political parties to appreciate the electoral body’s efforts in this regard.
Mr Qasim said foolproof voting system has been devised for the by-elections. He added, An awareness program has also been started for overseas Pakistanis to educate them about i-voting.
The spokesperson said those possessing National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistani (NICOP), Machine Readable Passport (MRP) are registered as voter in any constituency are eligible for the i-voting.
Mr Qasim said this is a pilot project and a report will be submitted in the parliament after its implementation.
