Expatriate Insurance News: Pakistani expats 'could get right to vote'
14/06/10 13:30
Pakistani expatriates could soon get the right to vote as the matter is currently being considered by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis sent a draft bill to the ECP that granted expats the right to vote in elections, resulting in the setting up of a committee to consider all aspects of the bill.
This committee has examined the legal, constitutional, financial and administrative implications involved with giving expats the right to vote and believes that the involvement of overseas Pakistanis "could go a long way toward [the] economic development of the country", secretary of the ECP Ishtiak Admad Khan noted.
It is thought that proportional representation could be the best model for any expatriate voting system.
The committee has recommended that expatriates who hold Pakistani nationality and are working abroad temporarily or on a work permit should be allowed to vote in the country's elections, as should those with dual nationality in a country that has an agreement with the Pakistani government.
Expatriates who had dual nationality but gave up their Pakistani nationality should not qualify for the right to vote, the secretary explained.
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