Voting System In Pakistan

Introduction

Since its establishment in 1947, Pakistan has had an asymmetric federal government and is a federal parliamentary democratic republic. At the national level, the people of Pakistan elect a bicameral legislature, the Parliament of Pakistan. The parliament consists of a lower house called the National Assembly, which is elected directly, and an upper house called the Senate, whose members are chosen by elected provincial legislators. The head of government, the Prime Minister, is elected by the majority members of the National Assembly and the head of state (and figurehead), the President, is elected by the Electoral College, which consists of both houses of Parliament together with the four provincial assemblies. In addition to

Six days were given for filing of nomination papers, followed by seven days for scrutiny of those papers. This was followed by four days for filing appeals, and another seven days for decision on these appeals. Finally, one day was given to withdraw nominations and last two days were reserved for publication of final candidates ' lists. Even detainees who wanted to contest elections were brought to the Election Commission to file their nomination papers.

Allegations of pre-poll rigging:

Pre-poll rigging is possible only if either the boundaries of constituencies are altered or voters ' lists are not available to political parties. The government did not alter the boundary of any constituency. The boundaries remain as they were in the 2002 elections. Voters ' lists have been published and are available to the candidates. They are also made available online (on internet) to ensure easy access to everyone. Complaints regarding voters ' lists were addressed by the Election Commission. At the request of opposition parties, the Election Commission has also allowed the use of old National ID cards in addition to the computerized