ISLAMABAD, December 6, 2017: The role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in minimizing the gender deficit in voters list is imperative, said Ms. Nighat Siddique, Additional Director General Gender Affairs, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) while inaugurating a workshop of CSOs that are gearing up to support the ECP’s campaign for Women’s National Identity Card (NIC) and voter registration across Pakistan.

The three-day workshop hosting 48 civil society organizations is organized by Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA). The workshop is being attended by the Project Managers of these civil society organizations who, in collaboration with the ECP, are working in 64 districts across Pakistan to facilitate NIC and voter registration of women.

TDEA aims to register at least 800,000 women under this initiative prior to GE 2018. Ms. Nighat Siddique added that the ECP will extend its full support in ensuring the project’s success. In this regard, ECP officials at the district level will monitor and observe the registration process. She added that the absence of more than 12 million women from the voters’ list is a serious challenge, which requires extraordinary efforts to overcome it.

TDEA Head of Programs Muddassir Rizvi, while addressing the workshop, said that this is a very sensitive and important project, the success of which is crucial for efforts to bridge the gender gap in voters list. He reiterated TDEA’s dedication to the cause of achieving gender parity on the electoral rolls and added that the campaign is expected to pick momentum with the continued support and cooperation of ECP and NADRA.