President for expediting work on I-voting system to facilitate Pakistanis

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday called for expediting work on internet voting (I-voting) system to enable the Overseas Pakistanis to cast their votes from abroad.

He advised the concerned stakeholders to engage experts and determine timelines for introducing I-voting solutions in the country.

The President made these remarks

hile chairing a meeting of sub-committee on Emerging Technologies on I-voting.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication (IT&T), Syed Amin-ul-Haq, Secretary Ministry of IT&T, Dr Muhammad Sohail Rajput, Chairman National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA) Brig (R) Khalif Latif, DG (IT) Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Khizer Aziz, senior government officials and members of the advisory committee on I-voting.

Ministry of IT&T and NADRA updated the President about the proposed solutions with regard to I-voting. Addressing the meeting, the President highlighted that the Pakistani community greatly contributed to the development of the country by sending remittances but, unfortunately, they could not participate in the electoral process due to lack of an efficient electoral mechanism in place.

In order to enable the Overseas Pakistanis to cast their vote, he underlined the need for devising an effective and fool-proof I-voting system so that the Pakistani community could exercise their right to vote.

The President lauded the role of ECP for taking keen interest in initiating electoral reforms. He also appreciated the guidelines and technical support provided by the Ministry of IT&T and NADRA on internet voting.