News
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Plan ready to give voting rights to expats, SC told* NADRA develops software programme which will be deployed at all missions abroad
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has appreciated the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for developing a software in 48 hours that will ensure voting rights to overseas Pakistanis
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and NADRA to evolve a common strategy to make the programme viable. During the hearing, NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik presented a demonstration of the software, which employs bio-metric system to allow the overseas Pakistanis cast votes. After approval by the ECP the system will be deployed in different missions abroad.
The software will help a Pakistani expatriate cast his vote electronically, while the paper trail will help the ECP reconcile the polled vote, the NADRA chairman said, adding that the system could also identify illegal immigrants in case a machine-readable passport was utilised. Although the software had been developed without any cost, but $1.5 million would be needed for necessary equipments and logistic support, the chairman explained.
Meanwhile, the AG assured the court that the Foreign Office had offered complete cooperation to deploy the programme in different embassies. Director Elections Sher Afgan told the court that the software would be approved by the commission and IT experts would scrutinise it minutely, since the commission has recently encountered a cyber attack against its website.
Meanwhile, according to a proposal of Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim the ECP would limit polling stations to a maximum of ten only in those countries where the maximum number of Pakistani resides, like two polling stations each in Saudi Arabia, US and UK, while one each in the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain. This will require sending ten presiding officers and equal number of assistant presiding officers to these countries. The hearing of the case is adjourned for ten days.Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk