ECP launches Internet voting website

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) launched its Internet voting (iVoting) website yesterday for some 7.9mn Pakistanis living abroad, to enable them to cast their votes in the upcoming by-polls.The ECP will be holding by-elections in 37 constituencies for both National and Provincial Assembly seats on October 14.The Overseas Voting System (www.overseasvoting.gov.pk) has listed the constituencies for voting on the website’s homepage.Overseas voters will be able to register themselves on the ECP’s website for the constituencies their vote is registered in.As per the iVoting schedule, the registration period started yesterday and ends on September 15.However, the voter pass – a unique pass code provided by the system to the registered voters – will be issued between October 10 and 14.Votes will be cast online from 8am till 5pm (Pakistan Time) on October 14.Only those citizens who are already registered voters in Pakistan will be able to exercise their right to franchise.Eligible voters must complete a two-step process for online registration.According to the ECP rules of overseas voting, eligible voters should possess a valid National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), a valid Machine Readable Passport (MRP), and a valid e-mail address.The overseas Pakistani voter wishing to cast his or her vote shall access the Overseas Voting System through the Internet and create an account using these credentials: name, e-mail address, password of the voter’s choice, mobile phone number (optional), and the country of stay.A confirmation e-mail of the created account would be then forwarded by the system to the applicant at the given e-mail address, and by clicking on the link therein, the voter shall be prompted to provide the number of his or her MRP with its tracking identity and the NICOP number, along with the date of its issuance.Once the account is successfully registered, the second verification process would be initiated, wherein random questions regarding the voter’s identity information would be posed by the system, and upon correct reply, a message of “Successfully verified” would be displayed by the system.A unique “voter pass” will be e-mailed to the voter by the system, which the voter would be required to provide on polling day to be able to cast his or her vote.The ECP has issued strict guidelines regarding the confidentiality of the voter pass, as voters are required to not delete the e-mail containing the pass code and maintain its secrecy to avoid breach of vote.Speaking about the ECP’s measures to ensure credibility and misuse of the pass code, commission spokesman Nadeem Qasim said that the voter pass would be issued sometime close to the polling day to minimise potential risks.“The voter pass will be issued close to the polling day so that there is little time for breach or impersonation. Even after the voter has entered the voter pass, the system will undergo another verification process to ascertain voter identity,” he maintained.On polling day, the voter shall log in to the website using his of her username and password, and enter the voter pass e-mailed earlier.This will direct the voter to his or her registered national and provincial assembly constituencies to cast the vote.A designated list of candidates of the selected constituency would then be displayed by the system, and the voter shall select the election symbol of the candidate to cast the vote.Upon successful submission of the vote, a “confirmation” message would be displayed on the computer screen.The Election Commission of Pakistan has also uploaded on its website separate video tutorials in Urdu and English languages, as well as step-by-step help materials to guide voters through the registration and voting processes.