Female Voter Registration Surpasses Male for First Time: ECP

News Desk

Islamabad: Female voter registration has overtaken male registration nationwide, reducing the gender gap to 7.4 percent, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Wednesday.

ECP Secretary Omer Hameed Khan credited the milestone to a joint drive with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), calling women’s electoral participation a strategic priority.

Speaking during a meeting with the Women Parliamentarians Caucus—led by Shahida Rehmani and attended by Tahira Aurangzeb, Rana Ansar, and Shahida Begum—the secretary highlighted a sharp rise in female candidates during the 2024 general elections, reaching 923.

He said the ECP’s Gender Mainstreaming and Social Inclusion Framework (GMSIF) has earned praise from the European Union, the Commonwealth, and the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

Parliamentarian Shahida Rehmani welcomed the ECP’s initiatives and reaffirmed the Caucus’s commitment to strengthening women’s political participation, including through legal reforms.

ECP Director General Gender and Social Inclusion Nighat Siddiqi briefed the meeting on targeted measures, including coordination with the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics via INVR-5, updated CNIC drives, and a nationwide “one-window operation” for issuing disability certificates.

Both sides agreed to jointly push the women’s voter registration campaign at the constituency level, with the Caucus pledging to help identify unregistered women and facilitate their inclusion in the electoral process.