Pak expats allowed to vote in by-elections

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday permitted Pakistanis residing abroad to cast their votes in the upcoming by-elections to be held on October 14.

“Many congratulations to overseas Pakistanis,” said Chief Justice (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, noting that it would be the irst time that the Pakistani expats will be voting in the polls.

If the pilot project of overseas Pakistanis voting in the by-elections ends successfully, it will lead to the court granting expats the right to vote in the general elections.

The by-polls will be arranged to ill some thirty seats vacated by federal and provincial lawmakers who contested and won more than one seat in the July 25 elections, or for other reasons.

The judgment was issued by a three-judge bench headed by the chief justice which was hearing petitions iled by Pakistan Tehreek-i-insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and others, seeking voting rights for overseas Pakistanis.

Justice Nisar directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to cooperate with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and ensure proper arrangements in order to make the pilot project a success.

The court ordered that results obtained from I-voting (internet voting) by overseas Pakistanis will be included in the inal results of the by-polls.

However, the I-voting results will also be stored separately and will be taken out from the inal count in case a conlict arises, the chief justice ordered.

“The right to vote of overseas Pakistanis has been accepted,” Justice Nisar remarked, adding that it was now up to the ECP to implement the verdict and fulil its duty of holding the elections.

“The pilot project should be completed according to ECP regulations and operation plan,” he ordered, adding: “We are grateful to the ECP and Nadra for building the pilot project.”

The top judge ordered Nadra to cooperate with ECP to make the electoral process of the pilot project fool-proof.

Apparently dispelling the impression that the I-voting project would be an informal exercise, the CJP emphasised: “This is being done on an experimental basis does not mean that its results should be ignored.”