Electoral rolls to be put on EC website within two weeks: Dilshad
By Adnan Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Secretary Election Commission Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad Thursday said computerized electoral rolls for January 2008 polls would be posted on Election Commission website within two weeks. Addressing a day-long Election Conclave organized by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), he said, the lists have been completed as directed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and would be accessible on the EC website within the next 15 days.
He said the Election Commission has finalized arrangements for polls and 430,000 transparent ballot boxes have been provided to district headquarters. Moreover, voting screens would be installed at the polling stations to ensure transparency of polls.
Dilshad said 550,000 polling personnel have been imparted training by foreign experts to make the process free, fair, impartial and reliable.
He said 1.5 million copies of a booklet containing guiding principles for polling agents would be provided to the political parties within a few days.
This time, he said, over 13,000 nomination papers have been filed for the forthcoming polls while this figure stood near 10,000 in the 2002 Elections.
He said the electoral rolls prepared for the upcoming elections are one of the best in the world, adding, 150,000 election staffers collected data in a house to house data collection campaign.
Kanwar Dilshad said there are 81,000,000 registered voters and comprehensive arrangements have been made to facilitate them at the polling stations.
“Previously prepared voters’ list contained some 5,500,000 registered voters. The current figure emerged after the Election Commission added the voters registered in 2002 polls list in the present list on the directives of the Supreme Court,” he said.
He said the Election Commission is conducting training for orientation of Returning Officers and Deputy Returning Officers for the first time in EC’s history.
“This process would be completed by the end of this month,” he said, adding, this time more initiatives have been taken to ensure smooth election process.
He said EC was making utmost endeavors to dispense its duties in a befitting manner within the legal and constitutional framework.