PTI, PMLN or PPP, whoever you like – Please vote
The best way you can support Imran Khan, Nawaz Shareef and/or Asif Sardari is to get out on the election day and vote for them or their party. Period.
Now that the general election dates in Pakistan have been announced officially, it is time for Pakistanis to perform one of their three most important duties as citizens of Pakistan i.e., to cast their vote in an election, the other two duties being paying taxes and following the law.
Voting is the actual action that will bring the actual change Pakistanis are hoping for. In addition to becoming a member of a political party and making practical donations to them, the best you can do to the political party of your choice is to actually vote for them on the election day. Slogan chanting, congregations, rallies, corner meetings, canvassing, billboards, social media messages or campaigns all are useless if people do not vote. It is their own free will who they vote for, however, they MUST vote. “No one is good enough to vote” is NOT a good excuse not to vote.
So, for the first step of voting for the political party of your choice is to register yourself as a voter with the Election Commission of Pakistan. And if you think you have already registered as a voter to confirm the same fact and to know the details of your polling stations and process to vote.
To avoid any surprises on the election day and to be able to vote all Pakistanis should check if they are already registered as a voter with Election Commission of Pakistan.
How to check?
There are two ways to get this information:
- Using your cell phone: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in collaboration with NADRA provides SMS service for the public to facilitate the eligible voters to check their registration status. The public can get the information by entering the CNIC number and sending the text message to the number 8300. An automated response will be received in this regard with the name of electoral area, block code and serial number.
- From District Election Commissioner’s office: Every registered voter can check his/her particulars by visiting their respective District Election Commissioner’s office, where the final electoral roll is available. The addresses or contact information of the DEC’s offices across the four provinces can be found on the Election Commissions website at https://www.ecp.gov.pk
Addresses of the REC’s / DEC’s Offices
- TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF RECs / DECs IN KP PROVINCE
- TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF RECs / DECs IN PUNJAB PROVINCE
- TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF RECs / DECs IN SINDH PROVINCE
- TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF RECs / DECs IN BALOCHISTAN PROVINCE
How to Verify your information?
- Visit the website of Election Commission of Pakistan. Go the following page: https://www.ecp.gov.pk/frmGenericPage.aspx?PageID=4. Click on the green button on the right-hand side of the page Check your Vote and follow the instructions there.
- Also as mentioned above, you can send an SMS to 8300 by typing your CNIC (without Hyphen (-) or spaces) on your mobile. You will get updated voter record.
If you are already registered as a voter, and have access to your voter information do the following:
- Verify your voter information.
- Verify that your name exists in the voter list of your area of residence.
- If your name is not included in the voter list of your area, find out where is your name listed.
- If their information as a voter is valid, keep a record of the same for the election day.
- If their information as a voter has some mistakes, get it corrected right away.
- Verify that their information has been corrected in the respective voter list.
- keep a record of all corrections requested and made to the voter list.
How to get your information corrected?
Visit your nearest REC or DEC office, collect Form 22, free of cost and submit the form by filling in necessary details and with necessary supporting documents as indicated in the form. Form 22 can also be downloaded from the link below.
If you are NOT registered, first check your eligibility to become a voter as under:
Any Pakistani individual (male, female, other) can become a voter in an electoral area if he/she/third gender is:
- a citizen of Pakistan
- 18 years of age or older
- resides in the electoral area.
- possesses a National Identity Card issued by the National Database and Registration Authority, even if it is expired.
- is not declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind.
If you meet the above criteria and are eligible to vote, the next task is to get yourself registered as a voter.
Keep in mind, if you are not registered as a voter, or your voter information is not correct/valid or you do not have your original National Identity Card with you, you will NOT be able to vote for your favorite candidate, leader or political party and would miss an opportunity to have your say as to “how your city, province or country need to be run” but you would also fail to perform your one of the most important duties as a Pakistani citizen. And you would not have a right to criticize things later as when it was your turn to speak your mind you had shied away.
In Pakistan, voters must be registered before they can vote. Voter registration and accuracy of voter information ensures that everyone entitled to vote can do so. It also prevents ineligible persons from voting, and guards against multiple voting by the same individual. Voter registration process is same and is equally important both for male and female citizens.
How to Register
Application for Voter Registration can be submitted, along with a copy of CNIC, to the District Election Commissioner (DEC)/ Registration Officer/Assistant Registration Officer of the district where you want to get your name enrolled.
Addresses of the REC’s / DEC’s Offices
- TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF RECs / DECs IN KP PROVINCE
- TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF RECs / DECs IN PUNJAB PROVINCE
- TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF RECs / DECs IN SINDH PROVINCE
- TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF RECs / DECs IN BALOCHISTAN PROVINCE
Necessary application forms for Registration as a new voter (Form 21), for transferring your vote from one place to another (Form 21), for submitting an objection to a current voter (For 22), for deletion of a voter from voter list (Form 22), or for making corrections to the voter details in an existing voter (Form 23) can be downloaded from following links. These forms are also available, free of cost, from the office of the District Election Commissioner / Registration Officer OR Assistant Registration Officer/Display Centre In charge.
- Form 21: For Registration / Transfer of Vote
- Form 22: For Objection / Deletion of Vote
- Form 23: For Correction of Particulars
Please be aware that if you do not vote, you lose your moral right to question your city’s, your province’s, or your country’s leadership on their performance as without performing your own part how can you question someone else on doing their part?
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Babar Saeed
November 03, 2023
The writer is a professional marketer and engineer with good work exposure to governments, and businesses and industries in the private sector in several countries. Idea is to take the first step in adding value to anything that one gets exposed to instead of just complaining about the same.