More than 2 lac women on Election Duty may be deprived of exercising their right of vote: Aurat Foundation

Lahore (PR): Aurat Foundation, Gender Election Monitoring (GEM) Cell, has urged the women prospective postal voters to apply by 15th April 2013 for postal ballot papers in the respect of National Assembly and Provincial Assembly constituencies in which they are registered as voters. AF apprehends that more than 2 lac women on election duty may be deprived of exercising their right of vote. Election commission has not arranged any awareness program for women voters on election-related duties nor the Commission has approached prisons for facilitating womenprisoners to cast their vote during the forthcoming election. In routine letters may have been sent to the federal and provincial governments in this behalf by the Commission.
Following women voters fall under the categories forwhom facility of postal ballot paper has been extended under the law:

1. A woman who is in the service of Pakistan or holds any public office is deemed to be resident in the electoral area where she is posted, unless she has applied to the Registration Office for her enrollment in the elector area in which she would have been enrolled if she had not been in such service or had not held such office.
2. The wife of any such person as is in the service of Pakistan and such of her children as are entitled to be enrolled as voters and live with her.
3. A woman who is detained in person or held in other custody at any place in Pakistan is deemed to be resident in the electoral area in which she would have been resident if she had not been so detained or held in such custody and thus can cast her postal paper in the constituency in which that electoral area falls.
4. A woman appointed by a Returning Officer including police personnel for the performance of any duty in connection with the general election at a polling station other than the one at which she is entitled to cast her vote.

All such women electors as enumerated above should apply to the Returning Officers of the constituencies in which they are enrolled as electors for postal ballot papers for voting by postal ballot paper.
Any woman elector applying for postal paper should specify in her application her name, her address and her serial number as given in the electoral roll.
There are more than 2 lac women who have been engaged in various election duties such as Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers and Polling Officers, or are performing security duties during elections or have been appointed as members of 400 monitoring teams formed by ECP to oversee campaigning and actual polling of elections.
There are hundreds of women who are under detention in prisons in the country. Aurat Foundation, Gender Election Monitoring (GEM) Cell, has urged all DEOs, and ROs to encourage the staff on election duty to avail the facility of postal ballot paper.
Aurat Foundation may be contacted for help in applying for postal ballot papers.

Gender Election Monitoring Cell
Aurat Foundation
Lahore