The Alliance for Protection of Human Rights (APHR), a group of civil society organisations, has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to extend the period for display of draft-electoral rolls.
In a statement issued here on Monday, the APHR said people were not coming forward to check and enlist their names because of the cumbersome voter registration process. APHR comprising Aurat Foundation, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Khwendo Kor (KK), Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), Shirkatgah, Human Resource Management and Development Center (HRMD), Sungi Foundation and Noor Education Trust (NET).
The rights body said the display centers were lacking required facilities, thus equally discouraging the people and staff. They said the official timing for display centers was from 9 am to 5 pm, but the staff was not observing that.
The APHR said that most of the total 5,551 display centers in NWFP, especially those in the rural parts, had been set up away from the residential areas, making it difficult for the people to visit the centers to check their names for accurate information.
The human rights group took a strong note of the fact that the draft-voter lists were flawed that 20 million voters were missing from these electoral rolls. The APHR expressed astonishment at the men-women gap in the draft electoral rolls and questioned why a large number of women of 18 years old and above had been left out in the draft-electoral rolls.
The statement pointed out that NWFP women had the lowest percentage of enrolment (40 percent), adding it was a source of worry as the women had always faced a raw deal in the past elections in the province.
There have been instances in the past when women were barred from voting and contest in several parts of NWFP, the statement added, urging the Election Commission of Pakistan to ensure maxim registration of woman voters in the draft-electoral rolls.
The rights groups urged the Election Commission to take proper steps for making the coming electoral process transparent and fair. The error-free voter lists is the first step towards that end, the press release concluded.-PR
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