Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday directed the authorities concerned to address the reservations shown by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding the amendments in the electoral laws.

Chairing a meeting of the sub-committee on Emerging Technologies in i-Voting, the president reiterated that the final decision about implementation of the electoral processes would be taken by the ECP.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin-ul-Haq, Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati, Secretary IT&T Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, acting Chairman NADRA Brig (retd.) Khalif Latif, DG (IT) ECP, Khizer Aziz, and other government officials.

The president said the government organizations would facilitate the ECP in executing the reform process in a transparent manner.

He emphasised that the right to vote was the fundamental right of every citizen of the country, and they should not be deprived of it due to the system’s weaknesses.

President Alvi underlined the need for improving the existing electoral laws to enable about nine million overseas Pakistanis to exercise their right to vote in line with the directions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

He stressed the need for improving communication among the stakeholders to address any misconceptions about i-Voting for the overseas Pakistanis.

Referring to the Elections Act, 2017, Azam Khan Swati informed the meeting that 49 amendments were incorporated in the act with the consent of ECP and now the relevant organizations should also support the ongoing reforms to ensure transparency and credibility of the electoral process