A seminar was held here at Government College University Lahore on Thursday under the auspices of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to sensitize students on the importance of voting.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Asghar Zaidi moderated the seminar which was addressed by District Election Commissioner Lahore Syed Basit Ali, ECP Media Coordination Director Qaratul Ain Fatima, Chief public relations Huda Ali Gohar and Deputy Director of Gender Affairs Maham Qadir.

Speaking on the occasion, the senior officials of the ECP said that the Election Commission has launched a campaign in educational institutions to educate the youth of Pakistan on the electoral process, voter registration and the importance of the vote.

They said that the inclusion of eunuchs, people with disabilities and minorities in the electoral process is also the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission for which they have taken various effective measures.

“ECP also launched a national ID card and voter registration campaign for women in partnership with NADRA to close the gender gap in the number of male and female voters registered to vote, which covers 83 districts of Pakistan since 2017,” they said.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Zaidi told the students that they are the architects of the nation and that their understanding of politics and participation in the electoral process is of the utmost importance for the democratic future of the country. He appreciated the measures taken by the Electoral Commission and assured its cooperation for the voter awareness campaign. He underlined the need for young people under the age of 35 to become aware of the importance of their voting power. He asked the students to work as volunteers in their social circles and raise awareness about the importance of voting.

Addressing the participants, District Electoral Commissioner Syed Basit Ali said that the Electoral Commission has recently started the work of revising voter lists for the preparation of a transparent and comprehensive voter list. “The next Punjab local and general elections in 2023 will be held on revised voter lists,” he added.

He informed that under the Electoral Law of 2017, any voter can apply to register to vote at the temporary or permanent address shown on their identity card. Therefore, he called on all participants to register their vote and verify the correct address by sending your ID card number to 8300 via mobile message.