If you’re not a registered voter; if you don’t understand what that statement meant; then you’ve found yourself clicking the right button. As we all know the much anticipated elections of 2018 are upon us. A sum total of 104,267,581 voters are currently registered across Pakistan and the deadline to register was extended to April 30th.
If you registered yourself in 2013, then chances are then you are already in the list of registered voters. Your job is to verify the registration. To be able to vote for the upcoming elections, it has been calculated that another set of 8,100,000 people have registered themselves through ECP. If you want to check your status; it is simple. You can send a text message to 8300 and receive not just your status but also the ballot where you are required to go to cast your vote. The text message should entail your ID card number in the correct format. The system generates an automatic response and with your name and number informs you of the exact location alongside the serial number. So truly, there isn’t much to it.
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Get Enrolled
The next step after registration, is the actual showing up to the polling booth. However, if you are not carrying your original ID card then it might be a problem. You will be provided with a form, that you are required to fill and the remaining parts of the form are filled by the ECP. Fill the form and enroll yourself if you are eighteen and over.
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Post Your Vote
This is the moment of truth, where we gamble and decide the fate of our country for the next 5 years. This is usually a decision we regret almost immediately after. There is a chance that if you are handicapped, you can cast your vote without actually going to the booth. It truly doesn’t matter what physical or emotional limitation you possess – if you are a person, your vote matters.
If you cannot physically be present, you can always post it.
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Reasons Why You Are Not Registered
If the above information has left you scratching your head, or if sending a text message to the provided number hasn’t helped, here are the possible reasons why:
- You are probably not an eligible voter – give up.
- Most likely, you are not a resident of Pakistan.
- You were probably not eighteen when 2018 started. Therefore, the records have not yet been updated.
- You are someone with a fallacious mind, and therefore have been declared incompetent to vote by the court of law.
- You are not a resident of the area you intend to cast your vote in.
All jokes and humor aside, casting your vote is a responsibility you hold towards your country. Therefore, make it matter. Ensure that you have conducted thorough research and are aware of the pledges made by the political party of interest. Don’t be lazy and don’t consider it a bother to leave the house in the blistering heat – it is a responsibility you hold unto yourself and to the generations to come.