Cellphone service planned for poll data verification
A new service is likely to be introduced soon that will enable the men and women to verify their particulars in the electoral rolls without visiting the ‘voter lists display centres’ to be set up by the Election Commission (EC) across the country after the preparation of the preliminary rolls.
A detailed proposal for an SMS application has been drawn up by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) which it will launch in collaboration with the EC and three telecom companies.
Election Commission Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed Khan on Wednesday termed the proposed project a milestone. “This is a great convenience for the citizens to verify their status as voters through e-mode using state-of-the-art technology for the first time in the world,” he remarked.
Explaining the service, the deputy chairman of Nadra, Tariq Malik, said a citizen will send his/her CNIC number to a short code and will receive a message in Urdu containing details of the area where (s)he is registered as a voter and the serial number in the electoral rolls.
He said the service would help the public verify their status conveniently from any place in Pakistan.
After the introduction of the service, it would be the responsibility of all eligible citizens to make sure that their names have been registered as voters and report any discrepancies to the EC.
“The service is aimed at helping the EC to execute its constitutional duty as per electoral laws. We want to use technology to provide the outreach needed,” said Mr Malik.
The EC plans to set up about 55,000 centres across the country to display the preliminary electoral rolls for at least 21 days as per the law.
Swift action will be taken on the complaints received from eligible citizens before the publication of final electoral rolls.
An EC official told Dawn that complaints could be filed anytime before the announcement of the election schedule.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/29/cellphone-service-planned-for-poll-data-verification.html
