Among the guidelines issued on Tuesday by the Election Commission of Pakistan for the July 25 general elections is a welcome initiative to allow people with physical disabilities to vote via postal ballot. It should be a goal of the state to maximise the turnout for the elections and it would be unfair to expect those who are disabled to wait in line in the scorching summer sun. Under the ECP rules, only those who have the special Nadra NIC meant for the physically impaired will be allowed to apply for the postal ballot with returning officers before a July 5 deadline. Ideally, this decision should have been announced earlier so that everyone who is eligible had enough time to apply for the special NIC. But the ECP decision is still a step in the right direction. It should now go further and ensure that all polling stations have disabled and wheelchair access so that anyone who wishes to vote in person still has the opportunity to do so. The upcoming general elections should be used as a trial run to see how well this plan works and then to expand it for future elections where appropriate.
Now that the ECP has shown a willingness to relax the rule on postal ballot eligibility, it should consider whether it might be wise to allow other categories of voters to avail this facility. Until this exception was made for the disabled, only public servants and their families who are posted in areas other than where their constituency is located and those who are in prison were allowed to vote by postal ballot. But a large number of people will be unable to vote because they work in areas outside of where they registered to vote. This affects mostly the working class, many of whom will find it difficult to afford the journey back home to vote or will not be given time off. To ensure that every one who wishes to vote is given the opportunity, it may be worth considering allowing those who cannot be in their constituency on Election Day to vote via postal ballot. A commitment to lowering the barriers to voting will only increase civic engagement and lead to more representative elections.