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1. What is the Final Electoral Rolls (FER) 2012?
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finalized and published the Final Electoral Rolls (FER) 2012, enlisting a total of 84.36 million voters on 31 July, 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 National Database and Registration Authority (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. ECP short messaging service (SMS) has also been made active to help registered voters check the status of their votes and particulars.
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 process resumes once elections have been held. Likewise, in the event that a bye-election is announced in a particular constituency the FER for that particular constituency will be considered final and the registration process will be temporarily halted till the representative has been elected.
Final Electoral Rolls 2012 (Voter Stats)
Province Male Female Total Balochistan 1,886,235 1,391,929 3,278,164 Fata 1,120,736 555,231 1,675,967 Federal Area 325,795 279,007 604,802 Khyber Pakhtun Khawa 6,929,105 5,135,492 12,064,597 Punjab 27,297,361 21,011,283 48,308,644 Sindh 10,214,460 8,218,417 18,432,877 Total 47,773,692 36,591,359 84,365,051
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2. How were the Final Electoral Rolls compiled?
The electoral rolls data, based on the house listing was compiled by the Election Commission of Pakistan and, was handed over to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), which prepared draft electoral rolls on the basis of CNIC data available with them. These rolls were then sent for door-to-door verification through school teachers appointed by the ECP as Verifying Officials. 'Form A' was devised to register the names and details of those eligible voters whose names were missing from the draft rolls and identified during the door-to-door verification process. 'Form B' was used to delete the names of those who were found to have died since the last updating of the rolls. Verified data was sent to NADRA for incorporation of updated information, which was then used to prepare preliminary rolls that were put on display for 21 days at Display Centers established across the country. Establishment of these centers' was widely publicized through print and electronic media campaigns and the public was invited to verify their information and file claims for inclusion of their names, objections to the names of registered voters and apply for corrections of their wrong particulars. The Revising Authorities appointed by the ECP settled upon these claims, objections and applications for correction, on the basis of which the preliminary electoral rolls were revised and sent to NADRA for updating and printing the Final Electoral Rolls.
3. How (or where) do I check my details on the FER?
There are two ways to get this information:
a) Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in collaboration with NADRA provides SMS service for the public to facilitate the eligible voters to check their registration status. Public can get the information by entering CNIC number and sending the text message to the number 8300. An automated response will be received in this regard with the name of electoral area, block code and serial number.
b) Every registered voter can check his/her particulars by visiting their respective District Election Commissioner's office, where the final electoral roll is available. The addresses or contact information of the DEC's offices across the four provinces can be found on the Election Commissions website at:
http://ecp.gov.pk/Contactus/ListofDECAEC.aspx
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4. Can a person get a copy of the electoral roll or an extract from the electoral roll?
Yes, 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.
5. My name is not on the FER – What should I do?
You can submit your application along with a copy of CNIC to the District Election Commissioner (DEC)/ Registration Officer/Assistant Registration Officer of the district where you want to get your name enrolled. The prescribed Form A (Addition) is available online at the ECP website or they can be obtained free of cost from the office of the District Election Commissioner / Registration Officer OR Assistant Registration Officer.
The addresses or contact information of the DEC's offices across the four provinces can be found on the Election Commissions website at:
http://ecp.gov.pk/Contactus/ListofDECAEC.aspx
Forms available at:
http://www.ecp.gov.pk/
6. What shall I do if my details are not correct on FER?
You can obtain Form – C (Correction) either from the ECP website or from office of the District Election Commissioner/Registration Officer OR Assistant Registration Officer of your area and fill it up while indicating change that you want to make in to your particulars and submit it to the same office. The request will be scrutinized by them and after having clarity the changes will be incorporated in the electoral roll.
7. I/my son/daughter will turn 18 years old next week. Is it too late to be enrolled to vote?
No, it's not late. You/they can get their name enrolled in FER anytime till the formal dates for general elections are officially announced, at which point the law requires stoppage of all amendments to the Electoral Rolls.
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8. According to the FER I should vote at my old address but I want to vote at my current address? What shall I do?
Submit your application on prescribed Form –A (available on ECP website or can be obtained from the District Election Commissioner Office/Registration Officer/ Assistant Registration Officer of your area) together with a copy of CNIC issued by NADRA to the District Election Commissioner/Registration Officer/ Assistant Registration Officer for enrollment of your name in the new district. Your name will be enrolled at your new address and it would be automatically deleted from your old location details of which are required to be filled in on Form-A.
9. Will someone issued with a new CNIC be automatically registered on the electoral roll?
No, after obtaining CNIC, the holder must submit an application to District Election Commissioner/ Registration Officer if s/he wishes to be enrolled as a voter.
10. Who is the Registration Officer?
All the District Election Commissioners serve as the Registration Officers of their respective districts. At some of the divisional Headquarters, the Regional Election Commissioners have been assigned the responsibility of urban areas and they serve as Registration Officers.
11. Is the voter registration process allowed to run up till the polling day?
No the process does not run continually. Once the responsible authority announces a schedule for General Elections, the registration/ amendment of electoral rolls is halted and resumed only after the elections have been conducted. 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.
12. Can a non-citizen of Pakistan become a voter?
No.
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13. Can a resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir be registered as a voter for the General Elections in Pakistan?
No. However, a resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir who has settled in Pakistan is eligible to be enrolled as a voter.
14. Can a person declared of unsound mind by a competent court be registered as a voter?
No.
15. If a person works/resides in a particular city can he or she be enrolled as a voter in his/her native village or native district?
A person can be enrolled as a voter in an electoral area/district provided that he or she ordinarily resides in that electoral area OR owns a house or any other immovable property in that electoral area which can be his/her native village or district.
16. Can a person be enrolled at more than one place?
No. A person cannot be enrolled as a voter at more than one place. If he/she is eligible for enrollment as a voter at more than one place, the enrollment will happen at a place of choice where the registration papers have been submitted.
Regards
