BRIDGE Voter Registration workshop conducted in Pakistan

On 4-6 April International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in cooperation with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) successfully conducted BRIDGE Voter Registration workshop. The workshop took place in Islamabad and was attended by members of provincial commissions and electoral administration officials from ECP.

A team of international and national experts delivered the workshop: Emad Yousef, expert level facilitator; Pavel Cabacenco, accrediting level facilitator; Kulsoom Akhtar Meraj, IFES Pakistan, workshop facilitator; Rana Muhammad Aslam Khan, ECP, workshop facilitator. Important contributions to the workshop content were made by Ole Holtved, IFES Pakistan CoP; Ejaz Ahmed, IFES Pakistan Sr. Electoral Reform Officer;Nadia Fakhar, IFES Pakistan Project Associate Election Technologies and Babar Malik, Director MIS at ECP.

Acting Additional Secretary/DG Elections, Mr. Syed Sher Afgan and IFES Pakistan Chief of Party Mr. Ole Holtved opened the workshop and welcomed participants.

At the workshop participants learned about the Electoral Cycle concept, role of the voter registration and specific voter registration procedures and activities crosscutting different stages of the Electoral Cycle. Using interactive methods facilitators presented legal framework and key principles in creation of the credible and accurate voter register. Furthermore, facilitators introduced to participants different types of the voter rolls and had a discussion regarding the need of introduction of new technologies into the voter registration and verification process, conditions which should be met before the decision to use one or another technology is taken. Participants were interested to learn about the quality control methods used in the voter registration as well as about Pakistani experience in management of the voter rolls. At the last session of the workshop participants learned about the voter education techniques in voter registration and had an opportunity to develop themselves key messages for a voter registration campaign.

The workshop was highly evaluated by the participants. In their opinion it was very informative, comprehensive and useful.

BRIDGE Voter Registration workshop was conducted in frames of the IFES Pakistan “Support for Electoral Reform in Pakistan” (SERP) project supported by the Canadian Government, the European Union and the UK aid through the UK government. The SERP project aims to promote and strengthen electoral processes in Pakistan and to provide support to the Election Commission of Pakistan.