ECP asks PTA to end SMS charges for voters' verification

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has requested the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to end SMS charges during the voters’ verification campaign, ARY News reported on Saturday.

The election commission has written a letter to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) seeking assistance for the ongoing voters’ verification campaign across the country.

The commission stated in the letter that the voters and ECP staffers are facing difficulties while sending SMS at 8300. ECP asked PTA to make the verification SMS free of cost during the ongoing campaign of voters’ verification campaign.

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On November 7, The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had launched electoral rolls verification and authentication campaign.

According to an ECP statement, the first phase of the scrutiny of the voters’ list will be continued till December 6.

Some 142 registration officers had been deployed across the country including 42 in Punjab, 30 in Sindh, 35 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 34 in Balochistan and one office in Islamabad for updating of electoral rolls for the next general elections of 2023.

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As many as 2,065 Assistant Registration Officers had been posted to assist registration officers. All provincial election commissioners will oversee all stages of the revision of electoral rolls in their respective provinces.

The second phase of electoral rolls verification will commence from January 26, next year and continue till March 11. The preliminary draft of the electoral rolls would be displayed in designated display centres for public review.

The voters could add their names to the list and remove the names of deceased voters and voters who had shifted elsewhere. The review officers will decide about the authenticity of voter lists’ objections in their respective areas.