ISLAMABAD: After a landmark victory in Parliament’s joint session on Wednesday by passing the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Planning and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) long struggle over several years to get overseas Pakistanis the right to vote, finally achieved success.
After getting the bill passed, the government has enabled voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
According to the bill, moved by Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) shall, with the technical assistance of NADRA and any other authority or agency, enable overseas Pakistanis in prescribed manner subject to secrecy and security to exercise their right to vote during the general elections.
It also authorises the ECP to procure electronic voting machines for the casting of votes in general elections.
“Special congrats to all overseas Pakistanis who despite strong opposition by the PDM parties today got the right to vote thru [through] an internet based voting system,” Asad wrote on his official Twitter handle.
He said that his party’s long struggle over several years to get overseas Pakistanis the right to vote has finally achieved success today in the Parliament.
In another tweet, he also congratulated the nation on getting approved by the Parliament during the joint session of a census with an interval of only five years for the first time in the history of the country.
During his address in the joint session today, the minister had said that the PTI government is going ahead with a fresh census which will be based on best international practices by using the latest technology, expressing confidence that the results of this census will be acceptable to all.
The Minister expressed his surprise over the objections raised by the PPP on census results 2017 as it was the responsibility of the provincial governments to conduct the exercise, reminding that it was the PPP and the PML-N that were in governments in Sindh and the Centre.
Asad Umar, taking a jibe at the opposition, said that there was a lot of noise for weeks about the government’s ouster through this joint sitting but they probably forgot that “honour and disgrace are in the hands of Allah”.
In other tweets, Asad also congratulated the nation for passing the other bills during the joint session.
