ISLAMABAD, April 4, 2016: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) appreciates the release of GIS-enabled polling schemes for upcoming by-elections on a National and a Provincial Assembly constituencies in Karachi.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)on Monday launched online polling schemes for the bye-elections in NA-245 (Karachi Central) and PS-115 (Karachi East) to be held on April 7, 2016. The ECP has been piloting use of GIS-enabled polling schemes since local government elections. In a media statement, FAFEN welcomes the move as a great step towards electoral transparency. FAFEN has been advocating for the responsible use of technology to improve electoral transparency and accountability.

Geographic Information System (GIS) enabled polling scheme can facilitate electoral stakeholders especially the voters and provide them with accurate information on the location of each polling station in the constituency. Considering the popularity of GIS-enabled phones and large cellphone footprint in the country, such facilitation of voters by the Election Commission of Pakistan is expected to benefit a considerable portion of voters and curb incidents where voters are unable to locate their designated polling stations on Election Day.

FAFEN expects that ECP would continue piloting and using innovative technologies to improve electoral administration and results management for greater public trust in electoral outcomes.