Over 2000 journos miss right to vote

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 9 May 2013

More than 2000 journalists missed the opportunity to vote due to their duties on Election Day. They previously urged the Election Commission to facilitate their voting process.

Summary

ISLAMABAD: More than 2,000 journalists in Islamabad and Rawalpindi were not be able to cast their votes in their ancestral towns and villages because of Election Day duties.

The journalists had earlier demanded of the Election Commission of Pakistan to devise a swift strategy to facilitate them to cast their vote in their respective constituencies on May 11.

A large number of journalists were assigned election duties by their respective organizations in Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi for providing prompt information to the general public.

The elections were one of the biggest exercises in peace time and every media organization gave proper coverage. However, unfortunately the ECP did not devise any system in this era of technology to facilitate voters.

ECP spokesman Khursheed Alam said under the law there was no system for journalists or private employees to cast their votes. “There is a need to amend laws enabling such people to vote, but it was not possible at this stage.” - APP

KEY POINTS:

• Over 2000 journalists could not vote in their home constituencies.
• Journalists were assigned Election Day duties for public information.
• Election Commission of Pakistan lacks a system for journalists to vote.
• Calls for legal amendments to allow private employees to vote.
• Technology could facilitate a better voting process for journalists.