ISLAMABAD- The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has stopped providing the data of fresh Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC) holders to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to include their names in the electoral rolls since March 9 while 1.7 million fresh voters have been included in the voting lists during last five months.
Chairman Nadra Tariq Malik Wednesday informed this while talking to TheNation in his office. He said the number of voters stood at 86.1 million up till now. He said that around 200 million ballot papers with four or five security features had been ordered for printing to the Printing Corporation of Pakistan for the next general elections.
“Nadra has provided a list of 1.7 million CNIC holders to the ECP, who got issued the cards after reaching the age of 18 during last more than five months, to include their names in the electoral rolls since March 9,” he said, adding after that Nadra had stopped providing the data and the people wishing to include their names in the voter lists were directed to contact the commission.
The chairman Nadra said that the authority would take two to three weeks to get printed those electoral rolls who had been changed after the inclusion of fresh voters and for this purpose, all necessary arrangements had been made. “As soon as the commission will ask them, they will start the printing process,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ECP has refused to give a go-ahead signal to the Nadra to mention the names of polling stations in the electoral rolls what the authority calls in its technical terms mapping of polling stations with the electoral rolls at least 15 days prior to the election day, TheNation has learnt.
A senior official of the Nadra on condition of anonymity informed that the authority had floated the idea to the commission that all the electoral rolls should be included with the names of poling stations to facilitate the voters to see where they had to cast their votes. He said the commission had rejected the idea, saying that the proposal could not be materialised not earlier than 15 days prior to the polling day.
He said the objective behind the ideas was that as major changes had been brought in the electoral rolls for the first time in the history of Pakistan, many people would remain ignorant about the venue of their voting. “After going this exercise, any voters can easily verify where it has to cast the vote through an SMS,” he further said.