News and Updates
Feature

Why and how to Get CNIC--Urdu

Published

“Get your CNIC – get yourself registered to vote…because every vote counts!” Motivational voter education messages are instantly recognizable; they permeate the airwaves, and televisions in democratic countries, especially before an election. While short, the messages are clear and they are an indispensable tool to educate and mobilize large numbers of citizens. The IFES office in Pakistan created a campaign encouraging women to register for a computerized national identity card (CNIC) and register to vote.

In Pakistan, citizens must have a CNIC to register and vote. Currently, the electoral roll does not include about 20% of eligible Pakistani women, and that same gap was also reflected in a survey conducted by IFES in 2013 that explored the barriers inhibiting women’s CNIC registration. According to the survey, approximately 19% of women in the country did not have a CNIC, compared to only 7% of men. Since voter registration is directly linked to CNIC possession, increasing the percentage of women with a CNIC should positively affect the number of women registered to vote. As more women register, opportunities for their participation in the electoral process will increase.