NADRA Electoral Rolls Booklet 2012

Pakistan otesPakistan otesotesPakistan otesPakistan otesNational Database &Registration AuthorityMinistry of InteriorGovernment of Pakistan

Election Commissionof PakistanGovernment Of Pakistan

Authors:Danish Kayani | Faran Rafi

Publisher:Coffee Communications

Date Of Publish: April 2013

Copyrights © 2013 NADRA

Quaid Said“ You have to stand guard over the development and maintenance of Islamic democracy, Islamic social justice and the equality of manhood in your own native soil. “

0202

Table of ContentsIntroductionMessage from Chairman NADRAMessage from Chief Election CommissionerChapter 1: Elections in Pakistan

1.1- A brief history

Chapter 2: Pakistan in International Context2.1 - General Elections (Since 1947)

2.2 - Women Participation

2.3 - Average Voter Turnout

2.4 - Compulsory Voting

2.5 - Minimum Voter Age

Chapter 3: Electoral Rolls3.1 - What is an Electoral Roll

3.2 - Electoral Rolls in Pakistan

03

04

05

06

06

10

11

13

14

15

16

19

20

21

3.3 - Issues: Electoral Rolls 2002, 2007

3.4 - Preparation of Electoral Rolls 2012

Phase I:

Phase II:

Phase III:

3.5 - Improvements

Virtual Verification of Vote

Registration of Eunuchs

Voter’s Picture on Electoral Rolls

Increase in Women Voters

Increase in Non-Muslim Voters

Chapter 4: Voter Demographics in PakistanConclusionReferences

24

25

25

25

25

28

28

29

30

31

34

38

50

52

Throughout our history, the political process has been marred by consequential turbulences. Within the 65 years of its creation, Pakistan has seen very few general elections, that too not in a timely manner. The lack of transparency and archaic system of voter registrations have been complimented by very low voter turn outs. All these have slowed the democratic process within the country, not giving the system proper time to flourish. Commissioned by the Chairman of National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), Tariq Malik the report intends to shed light on the demographics of the voting population in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan and report upon the creation and validation of recently created computerized electoral rolls.This report highlights the key issues that the democracy in Pakistan has faced, starting with the history of general elections in Pakistan, it goes on to outline the process of elections and electoral rolls that this country has seen. The focus of this report is the stress upon the importance of the creation of the new modern

computerized electoral rolls, which have enabled Pakistan to come closer to making free and fair elections a reality. It is important to understand the role of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and NADRA in the creation of these electoral rolls and how time and again efforts have been launched to manually and systematically verify these computer-generated electoral rolls. Last but not the least, the most significant aspect of this report is regarding the demographics of voters in Pakistan. With the help of NADRA’s bio-metric database, considered as one of the largest in the world, these demographics have been used to visualize the nature of the voters in the upcoming elections. It also helps understand the psychographics and other factors that will shape the future of politics in Pakistan. This report also manifests the strength of Pakistan’s current database which currently hosts data and records of about 96 per cent of the adult population of Pakistan that is more than 90 million people, therefore it can be

used for various analytical purposes to help the public sector in the country. Data pool of this magnitude alleviates the need for any ground research and covers all major aspects of a person’s social standing. General elections of 2013, being considered the most pivotal elections in the nation’s history, will include within them a wide variety of voters. These demographics also highlight the need to make proper electoral campaigns in order to target the audience better. Some of these surprising demographics also show how various social groups which are generally considered minorities or less empowered will play the deciding card within the upcoming elections. Simultaneously, however, this report aims to convince everyone about the importance of vote and why taking part in the upcoming election is important to ensure a better future for our generations to come. Hopefully, by the end of this report, the readers will be able to put aside their apprehensions regarding the upcoming elections and will be able to realize the potential of a ballot box.

03

"Pakistan was founded on a vote, that was the vote of mutual consensus of all those involved in that historic struggle and the ultimate sacrifice of our forefathers. Now it is up to us to keep this tradition alive and pay homage to their struggle by exercising our right to vote. To uphold the sanctity of freedom that they strived for, we must use this freedom to choose who governs the future of our beloved country."

Tariq Malik(Chairman NADRA)

Messagefrom ChairmanNADRA

04

“Vote is a trust and its use is very important if you want free and fair governance. Voting is a display of empowerment of people. If you want good governance then empowerment of people needs to be highlighted.”

Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim(Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan)

Messagefrom Chief ElectionCommissioner

05

A Brief History1962 1970 1977 1988 1990 1993 1997 2002 2008

1962Presidential Elections

Before the inception of parliamentary form of governance in the country, elections were held according to the System of Basic Democracy where parliaments were elected indirectly by members of local governments. Held under the then President Ayub Khan, Pakistan Muslim League managed to record an exceptional victory by securing 120 seats.

1970First General ElectionsBy this time, Presidential form of government was complete-ly rejected by politicians all over the country and the overwhelming demand for Parliamentary System convinced General Yayha Khan to make the switch and General Elections were soon announced throughout the country. Many are of the opinion that these were one of the fairest elections ever to be held, however, ironically, the events that

followed were the most devastating in our history. With Sheikh Mujibur Rehman of Awami League winning in East Pakistan and Zulfiqar Bhutto of Pakistan People’s Party in West resulting in bitter disparities, in the midst of which the infamous war between Pakistan and India erupted resulting in separation of East and West Pakistan. Bhutto became the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1971.

1977First elections to be held after the separation of

East Pakistan from West saw Pakistan People’s

Party winning by an overwhelming majority. PPP

managed to win 115 (77.5%) out of a total

number of 200 seats. However allegatio

ns of

rigging started pouring in from all sides resulting

in a major unrest and formation of a nine-party

alliance, Movement for Restoration of Democracy,

resulting in a military coup soon afterwards

enforced by General Zia-ul-Haq. Zulfiqar Ali

Bhutto was hanged two years later.

06

2002Held under the military-government of General Pervez

Musharraf. Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam

(PML-Q) managed to win 118 out of a total of 342

seats while Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians

(PPPP) came in second with 80. Javed Hashmi was the

party leader of PML-N at that time which managed to

win 18 seats. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali was

appointed as the 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan and

the first Baloch to achieve this feat. For the first time

in almost a decade and a half, both Nawaz Sharif and

Benazir Bhutto were not a part of an election

campaign.

2008Elections would witness the return from exile of both

Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to contest against each

other after a gap of 11 years. El

ections were overshadowed

by pre-election violence, the worst of its kind in this

country. A number of casualties were reported from

different parts of the country such as Charsada, Parachinar,

Swat and Bajaur. However, the biggest shock came on 27th

December 2007, when while leaving a rally in Liaqat Bagh,

Rawalpindi, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Elections had

to be postponed for about a month and took place on 8th

February 2008. Out of a total of 342 seats that were

available, PPP managed to win 126 while 91 seats went to

PML-N. A coalition government between PPP and PML-N

was formed with Yusuf Raza Gilani and Asif Ali Zardari

becoming the Prime minister and President respectively.

1988Elections resulted in return of PPP to

power with Benazir Bhutto becoming

the first Muslim woman Prime

Minister. Yet again allegations of

corruption resulted in President

Ghulam Ishaq Khan sacking her merely

20 months later.

1990Victory for Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA) resulted in Nawaz Sharif’s coming to power. PPP boycotted the elections while Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) along with People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) were competing IDA. IDA managed to win 105 out of a total of 237 seats. PDA came second with 45, While MQM was the only other party to enter double figures by winning 15 seats. Allegations of rigging continue to be discussed in the Supreme Court to this day.

1993Elections witnessed the return of Benazir Bhutto to power courtesy of PPP winning 86 out of a total of 237 seats, while Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) turned out to be a close runner up by winning 73 seats. Pakistan Muslim League Junejo came in third with 6 seats.

1997By winning 137 seats, PMLN recorded a massive

victory while PPP only managed to win 18 seats.

Nawaz Sharif was once again selected as the Prime Minister however once again allegations

of rigging by means of filling extra ballots unearthed resulting in international observers

such as European Union and Commonwealth of

Nations abstaining from labeling the elections

as ‘free and fair’ according to a report by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

07

Pakistan otesPakistan otesotesPakistan otesPakistan otes


Chapter02Chapter 02

Pakistan inInternational Context

As of now, there are 167 countries which can be classified as democratic in nature. In the modern world, Ireland is considered to be the oldest lasting democracy. However, the process of elections to formulate a government has been marred by controversies since long; these “controversies” are not correlated to any specific region or economic pool of countries. Throughout history, we can see incidents of electoral rigging and political influence to tarnish the democratic process ranging from far-east Asia to Latin America, from Europe to Southern Africa; various countries have been identified to have had a strained system of elections. Controversy being a hallmark associated with the electoral process in Pakistan. This section aims to compare the standing of Pakistan with the rest of the globe. Some of the factors that will help in understanding the culture of electoral process in a region include the voter turnout, number of registered voters according to the population, minimum legal age for inclusion in the voting process and similar other comparisons.

Pakistan in International Context

Why Vote

On average we

spend 40

minutes a day on

Facebook,

on average votin

g takes less

than 10 minutes p

er person.

A few minutes o

n just one

day, can impact you

r life for

the next five ye

ars

10

Some of the factors that will help in understanding the culture of electoral process in a region include the voter

population, minimum legal age for inclusion in the voting

day, can impact you

r life for

the next five ye

ars

Why VoteIf you do not

decide

your future, then others

will

Since its creation, Pakistan has been struggling to achieve any consistency in terms of holding General Elections at regular intervals. Figure 2.2 shows that the gaps in between elections have either been too large or even too small, in some cases, due to a number of factors. Also, the figure of

the total number of elections held since 1947 is alarmingly low particularly when compared to other parts of the world.

Figure 2.1 – Number of elections since 1947

General Elections (Since 1947)

2.1

Number of General Elections Since 1947

9 15 16 16 25 21 1622

PAKISTAN INDIA UK TURKEY ARGENTINA AUSTRALIA CANADA FRANCE

11

PAKISTANNADRA has eliminated

the

hassle of regi

stration for

a

vote by allowi

ng all CNIC

holders to ca

st a vote

Why VoteWhen you skip voting, it’s not

rebellion, it’s surrender

Frequencies and Timings of General Elections Since 1947

TURKEY

UK

INDIA

PAKISTAN

Fig 2.2 – Comparison: Frequencies and Timings of General Elections Since 1947

12

Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to host a female head of the state; Peoples Party won the elections in 1988 installing Benazir Bhutto as the prime minister of Pakistan. From a global perspective Pakistan is among the top 50% of the countries in terms of representation of women in the parliaments.

Table 2.1 shows a list of selected countries along with the percentage that comprises of women within their respective parliaments. It can be seen that Pakistan fares better than countries like Brazil, UK and India in terms of gender ratio within the parliament. A major dynamic behind this is also the fact that majority of the women who make it to the parliament achieve their status through a reserved quota of seats. However, it is interesting to note that all the countries that are mentioned in table 2.1 also have a reserved quota based on gender. This shows that women in Pakistan are an integral part of the political machinery and, if exercised properly, their vote could make a significant change in the paradigm of the country’s governance.

Pakistan fares better than

countries like Brazil, UK and

India in terms of gender ratio within

the parliament.

Women Participation

2.2

Country Seats taken by women

% of women in Parliament

Rwanda 45 of 80 56.30%

Denmark 70 of 179 39.10%

Germany 204 of 622 32.80%

Iraq 82 of 325 25.20%

Pakistan 76 of 342 22.20%

United Kingdom 143 of 650 22%

Bangladesh 64 of 345 18.60%

India 59 of 545 10.80%

Brazil 44 of 513 8.60%

Egypt 10 of 508 2%

Table 2.1 - Source: http://www.quotaproject.org/

13

Pakistan places 164th amongst 169 countries which have had democratic elections within the past 50 years, in terms of voter turnout ratios with total number of registered voters. There are various reasons associated with a low voter turnout which could range from security issues to sociological issues, but the turn out ratio gives an estimate of the involvement of general population within the democratic process.

AverageVoter Turnout

2.3

Rank Country Average Turnout % (vote/reg)

1 Australia 94.5

2 Singapore 93.5

3 Uzbekistan 93.5

33 Germany 85.4

76 United Kingdom 75.2

79 Sri Lanka 74.3

120 United States of America

66.5

141 India 59.4

142 Russia 58.4

143 Bangladesh 58.2

164 Pakistan 45.3

165 Egypt 45.1

168 Ivory Coast 37.0

169 Mali 21.3Table 2.2 - Source: IDEA – Voting Turnout

Voter’s Responsi

bility

Voting in pl

ace

of another pe

rson,

regardless o

f the

situation, is

a criminal

offense.

Voter’s ResponsibilityEnsure that you are registered to vote, and that you know where your vote is registered by texting your CNIC number to 8300

14

Voting in Pakistan has never been a compulsion, a fact that has been a major factor among others for the low voter turnout over the years. Australia is considered among the first countries to adapt the concept of compulsory voting which is why the voter turnout ratio is as high as 94 percent. Belgium is also considered amongst the pioneers of compulsory voting where voting was made obligatory as early as 1892. Argentina, Holland and Venezuela are among others. However the level of enforcement is not as strict as in Australia where a non-voter can be fined and in case of not submitting the fine in due course, the offender may also face imprisonment.

Compulsory Voting

2.4

In Australia a

non-

voter could be fi

ned

for not voting a

nd in

case of not submitting

the offender may also

face imprisonm

ent.In Bel

gium a non-voter

maybe disenfran

chised

upon not votin

g in

at least four el

ections

within 15 year

s

In Peru, a voter is required to carry a stamped voting card as a proof for having voted

15

Minimum voter age also plays a vital role in recognizing the dynamics of democracy, the lowest minimum voting age in the world is 16 years which is set in 6 countries. However average minimum voting age in the world is 18, which is practiced in 199 countries throughout the planet. Pakistan also falls into this huge bracket of countries that allow people older than 18 years of age to vote for the decision of the country’s future governance. Second most common minimum voting age is 21 years which is set in 13 countries; this is also the highest minimum voting age set anywhere in the world.Along with the minimum voting age, another factor that decides the voting turnout is the number of adult population (i.e. population above the minimum voting age) that has registered for a vote. In Pakistan, till the last elections, voting population was 87% of the total population, which was very less compared to its immediate neighbor, India, which had about 97.1% of adult population registered for a vote. However, this has changed now since Pakistan allows ALL members of adult populations holding a national identity card to vote, thus increasing this percentage to above 96%.

Figure 2.3 - Minimum voter age globally

Know Your Rights!A voter has the right to a secret

ballot, whereby no one may look at or

ask to see any other voter’s ballot

MinimumVoter Age

2.5

16 17 18 19 20 21

16

Know Your Rights!Each voter has the

right to choose his or her favorite

candidate, without any external infl uence or

pressure.

Country Last elections Turnout in the last elections (%)

Regi¬stration Voting age popu¬lation

% of adult population registered for vote

Australia 2010 93.2 14,086,869 16,208,479 86.9

Bangladesh 2008 85.2 81,130,973 87,634,867 92.6

Ivory Coast 2011 36.5 5,664,377 11,401,580 49.7

Egypt 2012 62.0 47,192,169 53,245,955 88.6

Germany 2009 70.7 62,168,489 68,114,735 91.3

India 2009 58.2 716,985,101 738,773,666 97.1

Mali 2007 32.2 6,267,363 5,178,362 121.0

Pakistan 2008 44.5 79,934,801 91,856,744 87.0

Russia 2011 60.1 109,237,780 113,276,186 96.4

Singapore 2011 93.1 2,211,102 3,891,370 56.8

Sri Lanka 2010 61.3 14,088,500 14,799,473 95.2

UK 2010 65.8 45,597,461 49,116,522 92.8

United States 2010 41.6 218,054,301 240,926,957 90.5

Uzbekistan 2010 87.8 17,215,700 18,374,902 93.7Table 2.3 – Source: IDEA

17


Electoral RollChapter 03

An electoral roll is a list of people within an area who are registered to cast a vote in the next upcoming elections. The rolls are a general practice in any country that observes elections on a regular basis, and these are also used for national identification and other social security purposes. Some countries also use these electoral rolls to select people for jury duty since the public is already sorted according to the region they reside in.

EligibilityOnly citizens

registered on the Electoral Rolls are

eligible to cast their votes.

What is an Electoral Roll

3.1

20

Know Your Rights!

Each voter has t

he right

to choose his or

her

favorite candid

ate, without

any external i

nfluence

or pressure.

In Pakistan, for many years, the electoral rolls were generated on hand written registers which were then tedious to verify thus leading to many errors. Recently, Pakistan has adopted a newer method of generating computerized electoral rolls, which are based on modern bio-metric systems and are easier to verify.

Almost 17.5 million people have been registered within the age bracket of 18 to 25 years. Most of these people have not exercised their right to vote before, and were not registered within the electoral rolls in the last elections.

17.5 million people have been registered within

the age bracket of 18 to 25 years.

Electoral Rollin Pakistan

3.2

Age group Number of registered voters Fraction of total voters (%)

18-25 17.5 million 20.35

26-35 24.2 million 28.10

36-45 17.2 million 19.99

46-55 12 million 13.94

56-65 8.4 million 9.81

66 and above 6.7 million 7.81

Total 86.1 million 100.00 Table 3.1: Age-wise distribution of Pakistanis registered in the Final Electoral Rolls 2013 - Source: NDWH NADRA

21

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) with the help of National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) finalized and published the Final Electoral Rolls (FER) 2012, enlisting a total of 86.2 million voters on 31st July, 2012. Table 3.1 shows the age-wise distribution of all the voting age population that has been enlisted in the Final Electoral Rolls of 2012. The FER is a list containing names of all those, who are

registered as voters under the Electoral Rolls Act 1974 as eligible voters (18 years & above in age) and hold Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) issued by NADRA in a particular area. The new FERs have been sent to ECP offices at district level to facilitate further changes like registration of new voters who attain the age of 18 years and correction of particulars of voters.

37 million unverifi ed votes

represented almost half of the total

electoral rolls of 2008.

Province Men Women Total

Balochistan 1,915,318 1,421,341 3,336,659

FATA 1,142,234 596,079 1,738,313

Federal Area 337,907 288,057 625,964

Khyber Pakhtun Khwa 7,008,538 5,257,624 12,266,162

Punjab 27,697,703 21,561,634 49,259,337

Sindh 10,491,837 8,471,479 18,963,316

Total 48,593,537 37,596,214 86,189,751 * There are approximately 687 Eunuchs(Khawaja Sira) in Pakistan

Table 3.2: Region wise distribution of voters – Source: NDWH NADRA

22

In Pakistan, the updating of the Electoral Rolls (ER) is a regular and continuous process. However, law requires temporarily stopping the process once the general elections are announced. The current electoral rolls of Pakistan will stop being updated 60 days before the election, and will resume once elections have been held. Likewise, if any constituency is called upon to elect its representative even in bye-elections, no amendments can be made to the electoral rolls till after the elections. At all other times when an election schedule has not been announced the addition/amendment to the ER continues as per rules. This ensures that no last minute changes to the data can hinder the process of elections and create a bias in the outcome. Also, necessary arrangements need to be made according the registered voters in each region, and thus require a full and final list at least 2 months before the date of the elections.

In order to make the process transparent, access to the electoral rolls has been given to the general public. Any person can get a copy of electoral roll or an extract from

the electoral roll from the Registration Officer concerned on payment of Rupees ten per page paid in the form of Court Fee stamps.

Voter’s ResponsibilityEnsure your ballot paper has not been marked before

23

An accurate electoral roll is the first step towards ensuring a transparent election process. However mistakes are bound to happen due to a number of reasons. Factors such as the amount of population living in remote areas and reliance on manual procedures can often stand in the way of achieving accuracy. A number of issues popped up in 2002 mainly because no door-to-door verification was carried out back then. Also during that time the minimum age required to be eligible to vote was also reduced from 21 to 18 years which resulted in approximately 5.5 million new voters. Before 2002, both manual and Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) were in circulation resulting in further discrepancies. Physical verification of particulars of voters was difficult since names of voters being scattered throughout the electoral areas instead of being in sequence of households, gali, mohallah etc.The final electoral rolls of 2007-08 were prepared without any help of NADRA. The voters list was marred with duplicate/multiple entries, inclusion and exclusion errors and voters without any identity. Approximately 52 million voters were registered in the year 2007, 20 million less than those recorded in 2002 (72 million). According to All

Pakistan Minority Alliance around 20% of non-Muslims that were registered in 2002 were absent from the rolls in 2007. Names of thousands of dead personnel were present in the 2008 lists and the numbers were high this time around as well. Names of as many as 22,000 dead personal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) alone were present in the lists. A sharp decline was recorded in women registration as well in comparison to the 2002 electoral rolls when women voters shrunk to 30% of the total number of voters in 2007 from 40% in 2002.Once NADRA achieved more than 90% registration of the Pakistani population, a landmark legislation was passed according to which, in order to be eligible to vote, every individual must possess a Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC). Once NADRA took control of the production of national electoral rolls for the 2013 elections, previous electoral rolls were compared with the national database. Over 37 million voters were identified as unverified from the preceding electoral rolls, while around 45 percent of the total of 82 million voters was deemed as dubious. This figure contains around 2.5 million duplicate entries, 1.2 million fake entries and a number of dead personnel.

30.7 Million: Heads of families

were digitized using household

census forms

Issues: Electoral Rolls 2002, 2007

3.2

24

Voter’s Responsib

ility

Report any inst

ance

which might le

ad to

rigging at th

e polling

station.

A number of profound steps were taken for the preparation of electoral rolls in 2012 in order to improve accuracy and ensure transparency for the upcoming elections. NADRA and ECP have been working closely together while benefiting from each other’s relevant strengths and expertise to avoid all sorts of discrepancies that were found in the previous voter’s lists. NADRA currently holds one of the worlds’ largest Citizen Biometric Database which ECP used as a baseline in order to carry out door-to-door verification. Previously electoral rolls were prepared only through door-to-door enumeration and there was an absence of any authentic data to back the process up. The process was divided into three modules. Data of approximately 81.2 million compiled during preparation of previous electoral rolls was transferred to NADRA for verification by ECP. All such records which were not backed with a CNIC were removed, since CNIC was declared to be a pre-requisite for registration as a voter. As a consequence of this, 37 million unverified voters that were identified in the previous voters’ list were sorted out and all duplicate and fake entries were removed. Similar was the case with many deceased personal which made it to the previous lists.

Phase I: Initially, household census forms containing over 30.7 million heads of families were digitized. In order to ensure accuracy of the typed data, each form was typed twice at two different, random locations in the country. Unless there was a one-to-one match of every character in every field, the data was not transferred. In the end, two copies of the draft electoral rolls were handed over to the ECP for door-to-door verification and enumeration.

Phase II: ECP presented these lists for soliciting objections and modifications and handed over the forms to NADRA to execute phase two of the preparation of the rolls. NADRA shut down most of its regular centers and designated special sections in all headquarters for data-entry of the forms. 4,500 employees worked 24 hours a day without any holiday to prepare the preliminary electoral rolls.

Phase III: A virtual verification service was developed whereby any citizen could verify their vote by texting their CNIC number to 8300. After the display period was exhausted and objections were received, the last phase was executed to prepare the final electoral rolls.

84 Million: Total number of voters registered in the current electoral

rolls.

Preparation of Electoral Rolls 2012

3.4

25

NAMEx y z

61101-2092509-7

HOUSEHOLD CENSUS (2.2 MILLION FORMS)April, 2011

CNIC DATABASE(80 MILLION+)

LEGACY DATA ELECTORAL ROLLS(80.5 Million Voters)

SCANNING DATA ENTRY

DRAFT ELECTORAL ROLLS(80.1 MILLION VOTERS)JULY, 2011

2 COPIES 6 MILLION PAGES

PRODUCTION FACILITYHOUSEHOLD CENSUS (2.2 MILLION FORMS)April, 2011

New CNIC (3.6 Mil)

DOOR TO DOOR VERIFICATION

SCANNING DATA ENTRY

PRELIMINARY ELECTORAL ROLLS(80.4 MILLION VOTERS)10 FEB, 2012


8300 SMS Service 7.1 Million Hits

OBJECTIONS & MODIFICATIONS(4 MILLION FORMS)APR, 2012

SCANNING DATA ENTRY

FINAL ELECTORALROLLS (FER)31st July, 2012

3 COPIES 16.2 MILLION PAGES

Preparation ofComputerizedElectoralRolls

SECTION22nd March, 2013

18

Figure 3.1 Figure 3.1

NAMEx y z

61101-2092509-7

HOUSEHOLD CENSUS (2.2 MILLION FORMS)April, 2011

CNIC DATABASE(80 MILLION+)

LEGACY DATA ELECTORAL ROLLS(80.5 Million Voters)

SCANNING DATA ENTRY

DRAFT ELECTORAL ROLLS(80.1 MILLION VOTERS)JULY, 2011


PRODUCTION FACILITY

New CNIC (3.6 Mil)

DOOR TO DOOR VERIFICATION

SCANNING DATA ENTRY

PRELIMINARY ELECTORAL ROLLS(80.4 MILLION VOTERS)10 FEB, 2012


8300 SMS Service 7.1 Million Hits

OBJECTIONS & MODIFICATIONS(4 MILLION FORMS)APR, 2012

SCANNING DATA ENTRY

FINAL ELECTORALROLLS (FER)31st July, 2012

3 COPIES 16.2 MILLION PAGES

Preparation ofComputerizedElectoralRolls

SECTION22nd March, 2013

18

ECP in collaboration with NADRA introduced a unique Short Messaging Service through which all registered voters were able to send their CNIC number without hyphens to 8300 from anywhere in the country. Upon doing so the sender would receive a message in Urdu containing their name, location of electoral area and the serial number of vote registered in the electoral rolls. Previously, the only method of checking one’s vote was to personally visit a center where the election lists were being displayed.

16.2 million: The number of people who have verifi ed

their votes by texting their CNIC

number to 8300. Virtual Vote Verification Process

61101-2092509-7

8300SENDING

VOTERRECIEVE SMS

WITHINSECONDS

NAMEELECTORAL AREA SERIAL NUMBER

CNICNUMBER

61101-2092509-7

voter

Figure 3.2 Voter Verification Process

28

ImprovementsVirtual Verifi cation of Voters

3.5

Another initiative taken recently in order to enhance registration and to include maximum number of citizens in the voter bracket was the issuance of CNICs to Eunuchs which automatically made them eligible to vote for the upcoming elections. This step was the first of its kind in the country’s history because of which this particular segment of the population was given the right of being identified as citizens of the state, something that they were previously denied. Under the new instructions, third genders could have male transgender, female transgender or Khunsa-e-Mushkil written on their CNIC according to their own will. Other than issuing identification documents at various registration centers across the nation, special Mobile Registration Vans (MRVs) were also deployed to facilitate registration of eunuchs in far flung and remote areas. Previously Eunuchs were unable to cast votes because of the fact that they were not officially recognized as members of the state. Moreover NADRA has also been providing job opportunities to the third gender at its regional offices in order to engage them as productive citizens of the society. This step was taken not only to

set an example for other organizations but also to help in registration of other eunuchs.

687: The number of Eunuchs registered

with the ECP

Registration of Eunuchs

29

Voter’s Responsi

bility

Put your vote

inside the

ballot box you

rself, do

not ask any s

taff at the

polling stat

ion to do it

for

you.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) with the assistance of NADRA, for the first time in country’s history managed to include pictures of each and every voter on all computerized electoral rolls. This step was taken in light of criticism raised by a number of political parties and civil society organizations regarding various discrepancies in electoral rolls due to fake, multiple or duplicate entries.

Voter’s Picture on Electoral Rolls

Why Vote

When you skip voti

ng,

it’s not rebellio

n, it’s

surrender

30

Women registration has been in the ascendency since 2008 with the number of registered women voters reaching 36,950,712 by 2012. Women registration has almost doubled during the last four years, with a sharp increase in overall percentage of registered woman to 86% in 2012 from 50% in 2008. NADRA has been reaching out to NGOs and other Government departments to encourage female registration and has designated Friday as a women’s-only registration day in all centers. The percentage of total number of female voters when compared to male voters has witnessed a sharp increase since 2007. Currently this percentage stands at 77 percent, while in 2002 and 2007 it was 40 and 30 percent respectively. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa typically suffers the most in terms of female registration and in 2007 KPK recorded the highest number of unregistered female voters and a percentage decrease in number of registered females of 45% was recorded from 2002 to 2007. However the current electoral rolls show that in terms of total number of female voters registered,

KPK stands at number three, only behind the two most populated regions of the country i.e. Punjab and Sindh. The total number of registered female voters currently stands at 5,191,887 with bulk of them that are registered coming from the rural areas (4,202,954). Following figure shows the number of women registered for every one hundred men by NADRA before and after 2009.

Between 2008 and 2012, the

number of women registered with

NADRA increased from 50% to 86%

of the adult female population.

Increase inWomen Voters

31 Figure 3.3 – Number of women registered for every 100 men

Pakistan fares better than

countries like Brazil, UK and

India in terms of gender ratio within

the parliament.

Area-WiseBreakdown:Female Voters

KhyberPakhtunkhwa Balochistan FATA Federal Area Punjab Sindh

Series1 5,191,887 1,404,214 489,433 281,193 21,202,308 8,300,719

0

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

Figure 3.4 – Area-wise breakdown: Female Voters (Source: National Data Warehouse NADRA)

32

36%

21% 11% 12%

11% 3% 2% 2%

1% 0%

0%

1%

Punjab Rural

Punjab Urban

Sindh Rural

Sindh Urban

Khyber Pakhtun Khwa Rural

Khyber Pakhtun Khwa Urban

Balochistan Rural

Balochistan Urban

FATA Rural

FATA Urban

Rural/Urban breakdown of Female Voters

Figure 3.5 – (Source: NDWH NADRA)

33

Why VoteBy not voting, you are also voting….. For the party that you do not support!

During preparation of Electoral Rolls 2007, objections were often raised regarding the total number voters prescribing to Religions other than Islam. However non-Muslim registration has been on the increase since then. The impact of non-Muslim voters cannot be overlooked by any political party particularly in areas such as Umer Kot where more than 177 thousands voters belong to religions other than Islam. Similarly in Tharparkar out of a total of more than 464 thousand voters, non-Muslim voters represent more than 214 thousand. Among major cities, Gujranwala hosts more than 87 thousand voters. NADRA has been working closely with leaders of various non-Muslim faiths, asking them to persuade their communities to obtain identity cards. Furthermore to facilitate the registration process Mobile Registration Vans (MRVs) are also being used to complete the registration process in far flung areas. As a consequence, numbers are on the increase and to date more than 2.7 million non-Muslims now possess a CNIC and hence are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.

214,000: The total number of non-

Muslim voters in Tharparkar out of a total population of

464,000.

Increase inNon-Muslim Voters

Minority Voter Ratios

1,379,218

1,223,832

115,095 47,356 5,872

Hindu

Christian

Qadiani

Other

Sikh

Figure 3.6 – Minority voter ratios (Source: NDWH NADRA)

34

used to complete the registration process in far flung areas. As a consequence, numbers are on the increase and to date more than 2.7 million non-Muslims now possess a CNIC and hence are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.

Minorities Vote may decide fate of 96 constituencies

District-Wise Ratioof Non-Muslim Voters

2.2

UMERKOT

THARPARKAR

MIRPURKHAS

TANDOALLAHYA

RBADIN

SANGHAR

TANDOMUHAM

MADKHAN

MATIARI

%age of Non-Muslim Voters 48.30 46.05 32.36 25.74 19.03 18.74 17.03 12.84

0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

District-Wise Percentage of Non-Muslim Voters

Figure 3.7 – %age of Non-Muslim Voters From Total Number of Voters – District Wise (Source: NDWH NADRA)

35

%Why VoteSacrificin

g a few minutes

once every five year

s for

the country can be

much

less painstaking tha

n

sacrificing your lif

e as our

forefathers did.


Chapter04Voter Demographics

in PakistanChapter 04

Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics Voter Demographics

Voting in Pakistan has been scarce. Due to long periods of martial laws, Pakistan has been unable to conduct as many elections as its immediate neighbor to the east, India. And even during the elections that did take place, the voter turnout has been relatively low. As mentioned in chapter 2, Pakistan is one to bottom five countries in the list of all democratic countries in terms of voter turnout. Figure 4. 1 shows the trend of voting turnout since 1977 elections.

As it can be seen, the trend was constantly decreasing till 1997, after which this has been rising. Numerous reasons could explain the sudden rise in the voter turnout after 1997. Freedom of Media Ordinance passed in 2002, has led to an increase in the political awareness of general population. However, other factors could include the lowering of the minimum voting age and foreign policies of the country since the initiation of the “War on Terror”.

Why VoteBecause otherwise you loose the right

to complain

Voter Demographics in Pakistan

55.02% 52.93%

43.07% 45.46% 40.28%

35.17% 41.80% 44.55%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

1977 1985 1988 1990 1993 1997 2002 2008

Voter Turnout in General Elections

Figure 4.1 - Voter Turnout in Pakistan since 1977

38

It is expected that the voter turnout in 2013 elections will be much higher than the 2002 and 2008 elections because of a number new policies governing the electoral roles. NADRA has helped in providing majority of the voting age population, a voting right, by allowing anyone with a valid CNIC to participate in the electoral process. This means that the number of registered voters this year is going to be a record high. This also comes along with other facilitations provided by NADRA and ECP, which has streamlined the voting procedure and made it easier for people to vote, hence churning a higher voter turnout.

An important factor in expecting a higher voter turnout in the 2013 general elections in Pakistan is also the politically aware youth. Youth being identified as anyone within the age bracket of 18 to 35. According the Final Electoral Roll published in July 2012, 40.1 million citizens belong to this age bracket, which comprises of almost half of the total number of registered voters. Figure 4.2 shows the comparison between registered voters in the youth brackets with those who are older than 35 years of age.

This shows the power that the youth will have in the upcoming elections.

Almost half of the National Assembly

of Pakistan could be formulated due

to youth vote.

Youth voters vs. Elder voters

Figure 4.2 - Youth voters vs. Elder voters (Source: NDWH NADRA)

39

Figure 4.3 displays the distribution of all the registered voters according to age brackets. This displays the demographics of the voters in the upcoming elections. And emphases the important role that the age brackets of 18-25 and 26-35 will play in the upcoming elections in Pakistan.

Apart from age brackets, gender ratios are also important in the decision of governance in any country. As mentioned earlier, Pakistan is amongst the top 50 countries according to the participation of women in the parliament. Among the registered voters in the electoral rolls of 2012, female voters comprised of 43% of the electoral rolls. However, sociological reason and lack of information for women is often the cause for their lack of registration for a vote. In rural areas of Pakistan, many women do not get their CNICs made because they are unable to leave their house without a male guardian and hence do not consider it necessary enough to register themselves in the national database.

Approximately 43 out of a total of

99 seats of KPK Assembly will

be determined by female vote

Gender Ratios of Voters VS Actual Population 57%

51% 43%

49%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Voters Actual Population

Male Female

Figure 4.3 - Gender ratios- Voters VS All population (Source: NDWH NADRA

40

Agewise Distribution of Voters

19%

29%

20%

14%

10% 8% 18-25

26-35

36-45

46-55

56-65

66 and above

Figure 4.4 - Age-wise distribution of voters (Source: NDWH NADRA)

41

Figure 4.5 shows the gender ratio of the voters in each province in Pakistan. Highest gap in the ratios can be seen in FATA. Ratios in the rest of the country are almost similar, with the least difference being seen in the Federal

Area. These demographics show the importance of vote of women in the upcoming elections.

Gender Ratios of Voters in Each Province

58% 67%

54% 57% 57% 55% 42%

33% 46% 43% 43% 45%

Balochistan FATA Federal Area Khyber PakhtunKhwa

Punjab Sindh

Males Females

Figure 4.5 - Gender ratios of voters in each province (Source: NDWH NADRA)

42

Why VoteBecause YO

U must have

YOUR say in issues that

affect YOU

Gender Ratio of Young Voters in each Province

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Balochistan FATA Federal Area KhyberPakhtun

Khwa

Punjab Sindh

Male Female

Figure 4.6 – Gender ratio of young voters in each province (Source: NDWH NADRA)

43

Since youth has been identified as one of the key players in the upcoming elections, it is imperative to understand where all these votes are coming from. Figure 6 outlines the gender breakdown of the young population according to each province, showing similar gender ratio trends throughout the country except for FATA. However, Figure 4.7 highlights that amongst the young voters about 56% of the population is located only within the province of Punjab. This in turn also shows that demographically, Punjab will be a key center to target for youth votes. Sindh and KPK formulate 22% and 15% respectively.

Young VoterGeographic Breakdown

4% 2% 1%

15%

56%

22% Balochistan

FATA

Federal Area

Khyber Pakhtun Khwa

Punjab

Sindh

44Figure 4.7 – Young voter geographic breakdown (Source: NDWH NADRA)

Urban/Rural Voters - Gender Breakdown

0

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

30,000,000

35,000,000

Rural Urban

Male

Female

Figure 4.8 – Urban/Rural voters – Gender breakdown (Source: NDWH NADRA)

45

Why VoteLess than 50% of people in Pakistan are above the voting age. Meaning, when you vote, you are not only voting for your tomorrow but also for your future generations.

In Pakistan one of the main driving force behind party manifestoes for elections is the need to cater the demand of different segments of the society. Figure 4.9 shows the ratios of the population that reside in Rural and Urban area within each province. It can be clearly seen that FATA and KPK hold large rural populace; however Sindh and Punjab

relatively have a higher ratio of urban population. Similarly, it can be seen in Figure 4.8 that the rural population comprises of more men, then the urban population. The gender ratio is higher in the rural areas of Pakistan according for voter population.

Rural/Urban Breakdown

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Balochistan FATA Federal Area KhyberPakhtun

Khwa

Punjab Sindh

Rural Urban

Figure 4.9 – Rural/Urban breakdown (Source: NDWH NADRA)

46

Figure 4.10 shows that majority of the population of Pakistan resides within their permanent place of residence. This shows that they are much more likely to be familiar with their surroundings and political history of the area

they reside in. Data shows that roughly 10% of Pakistani voters reside in an address that is different from their permanent address.

0

10,000,000

20,000,000

30,000,000

40,000,000

50,000,000

60,000,000

70,000,000

80,000,000

90,000,000

Voters count

Same Current andPermanent Address

Different Current andPermanent Address

Figure 4.10 – Permanent/Temporary address comparison (Source: NDWH NADRA)

47


Conclusion

Lack of transparency, rigging, bogus votes, and low voter turnout are some of the slogans that are often heard during and after almost every election season. While it is easy to point out all such blemishes, little has been during our history to plug these leaks. After every election season, we are left with a bitter taste of these issues which seems to have formed strong roots within the system. This has led to a large sum of population being dismayed by the electoral process. At the same time, these factors account for hindrances on the road to achieving a stable democratic structure in Pakistan.The upcoming General Elections are going to be monumental and a milestone in the history of the nation. Pakistan’s introduction of a completely automated system ensures elimination of a number of frauds that

were experienced previously. As outlined earlier in the report, steps such as these will bear fruit for the nation not only for the coming months but also in the long run. NADRA and ECP have joined hands to eliminate all sorts of discrepancies within electoral rolls and have been able to implement a number of mechanisms to help minimize rigging by a great extent. These tireless efforts are being carried out to provide the nation with a completely fair voting system, which will be a true reflection of the nation’s desires. This, however, also relies heavily on the will of the public to participate in the democratic process by realizing the importance of its right to vote.

Conclusion

50


References

ECP (2013), Comparison between FER-2007 and DER-2011 Electoral Rolls, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)

ECP (2008), Report: General Elections 2008 Volume 2, Election Commission of Pakistan

Elections 2013 (2013), Election Statistics of Pakistan, Pakistan Elections

NCSW (2008), Institutional Review of NCSW Support to Implementation of GRAP’s: Gender Review of Political Framework for Women Political Participation, National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), Islamabad

National Data Ware House (NDWH), National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Ministry of Interior, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.

PILDAT (2010), Citizen Group on Electoral Process: State of Electoral Rolls in Pakistan, Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)

Pintor R. and Gratschew M. (2002), Voter Turnout since 1945, A Global Report, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)

PRR-HEC, the First General Elections in Pakistan, Pakistan Research Repository - Higher Education Commission, Pakistan

References

52

“Just like every life counts, every vote counts as well, so in order to be counted, make sure you vote.

Vote for your future!”

Tariq Malik(Chairman NADRA)

NADRA Electoral Rolls Booklet 2012

Documents

Transcript of NADRA Electoral Rolls Booklet 2012