Pakistan is set to conduct Feb 8 elections to elect their next government, as the country was governed by caretaker setup for months amid economic crisis and political instability.
Here’s how voting works in Pakistan
128 million voters will elect legislators to National and provincial assemblies. Daily Pakistan is sharing a step-by-step guide to make the cumbersome voting process simpler, especially for those who are exercising their right to choose for the first time.
To avoid any last minute agitation or confusion on election day, its better to find out where you will cast your ballot, a day before the polling process. ECP rolled out SMS service that will help you to find out your constituency easily.
Step 1: Send SMS with your ID Card number to 8300, do not add spaces or dashes in number.
Step 2: The voter will get details about electoral region name, block code, and serial number.
Step 3: After getting all required information, please bring your original ID card to the polling station mentioned in SMS.
Step 4: At the polling station, join queue, and approach the presiding officer PO who will verify your name and electoral number.
Step 5: After calling your name, PO will mark your name from the list and you will get two papers.
Step 6: Make sure to get presiding officer’s signature and stamp on the back of both ballot papers provided to you, or else your vote will be scrapped. White voting paper is for the provincial parliament; and green for NA.
Step 7: Presiding officer will imprint your thumb impression on electoral rolls using a non-erasable ink.
Step 8: You need to check ECP’s watermark, official nine-matrix seal on ballot paper.
Step 9: Enter the polling area, and cast your vote for single candidate. you need to look out as ink is dry before properly folding ballot papers once you have stamped both places.
Step 10: Enter the voting booths and put green ballot paper into the green box and the white ballot paper into white box.